Experimental Design, Brain Function, Learning, and Memory Techniques for Test Preparation

1. Experimental Design

1.You want to test for the effectiveness of a new drug in dealing with manic depression.  As part of the experimental trail/procedure you select a group of 300 participants/patients who have been diagnosed with this disorder.  Out of this group you randomly select 150 of these individuals to receive the new drug called MD 1.

The other 150 remaining participants are to receive a “Sugar Pill” as opposed to receiving the MD – 1.  All 300 participants/patients were initially told they would be getting the new drug. The trail is administered using a Double-Blind procedure so that there is no possible bias introduced by either party (i.e.  the administrator or the participant/patient) in knowing who was receiving the new drug and who was receiving the “Sugar Pill” amongst the 300 selected individuals.  Obviously, an independent record was being maintained as to which participant/patient out of the 300 actually was receiving the MD – 1 and who was receiving the “Sugar Pill” in order to formally assess the overall effectiveness of the drug at the completion of the trail.

For the above experiment/scenario, please:

A) Identify the:

i)  Independent variable

ii)  Dependent variable

iii)Control group

iv)Experimental group

B) List at least 2 possible confounds (i.e. third or extraneous variables) in this experiment that may bias the results (i.e. jeopardize internal validity).  Because the scenario doesn’t give you a lot of information, you can be creative (while still being realistic).  (worth 1 mark each)

2. Your sister/brother wants you to baby sit your niece/nephew for the afternoon.  They are about 2 years of age and are playing with a puzzle box where they need to insert a round peg in a round hole to fit the two pieces together and a square peg in a square hole, etc.  Being a thoughtful aunt or uncle, you help to guide them through a few well-placed verbal instructions.  Occasionally you might even move a peg to the appropriate spot to demonstrate where it should go.

Based on this activity and your understanding of the function of the various lobes of the brain as outlined in the text, lecture, videos and/or other sources (i.e. internet), indicate /list at least 3 of the lobes your niece or nephew would be utilizing during the course of this play exercise.  In describing the exercise, make sure you show how each of the lobes is involved.  Try to be brief (no more than a paragraph per outline).

3. Briefly discuss a time in your life when you learned through:

i) Operant Conditioning

ii) Observational learning

iii) Punishment: When I did not study my parents took my phone for the rest of the day.

iv) Classical Conditioning

Make sure you use your notes/text to illustrate exactly how this situation was an example of each.  You should be putting detail and full explanations in your answers. (NOTE: Limit to 1 or 2 paragraphs per learning method). Also, make sure you cite your sources.

For each of the 6 examples presented below, identify whether positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment or negative punishment is illustrated. (You can copy and paste this list and then just put PR, NR, PP, or NP beside the appropriate example).

i) Police pulling drivers over and giving gift certificates for driving sober.

ii) A hospital patient is allowed extra visiting time after eating a complete meal

iii) Taking away a teenager’s cell phone until his or her homework is finished.

iv) Your instructor gives you extra bonus marks for completing an optional assignment.

v) You receive a parking ticket for not displaying a valid college pass on your dash or front windshield

vi) A prison inmate loses 50 token points used to purchase items such as magazines, chocolate bars, etc. for initiating a fight with another inmate.

4.In discussing memory you will find there are several interesting techniques for improving retention and extraction of information stored within the brain. Based on those techniques outlined in the text and/or lecture material select ANY TWO and outline briefly how you would utilize them to improve your memory when dealing with preparing for an upcoming test.