Class Done for Me

Assignment 2: Attentional Blink

There are many stimuli in your environment of which you are not aware. You use attention to filter out unimportant stimuli and focus on relevant stimuli. However, there are circumstances under which you cannot perceive stimuli, regardless of how hard you "pay attention." One situation is when visual stimuli are presented in quick succession. If the interval between the two stimuli is short enough, you do not perceive the second stimulus. This lapse in attention is known as attentional blink. In this assignment, you will experience the attentional blink for yourself and will also read about practical implications of the phenomenon.

Access the CogLab demonstration Attentional Blink. Follow the instructions to complete the demonstration.

Read the following article:

· Livesey, E. J., Harris, I. M., & Harris, J. A. (2009). Attentional changes during implicit learning: Signal validity protects a target stimulus from the attentional blink. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 35(2), 408-408-422. doi:10.1037/a0014525 (ProQuest Document ID: 614494049)

Using the experience from the CogLab demonstration and information from the article, write a paper that addresses the following:

· Explain how the attentional blink relates to attention. Analyze how the variation in time influences the probability of seeing the second target letter. Explain the circumstances under which the attentional blink can be eliminated.

· In the CogLab demonstration, letters were used as targets. The target used can influence the duration of one’s attentional blink and whether the attentional blink even occurs. Complete the following tasks:

· Propose at least two other targets that could be used to induce the attentional blink.

· Predict the effect each of your suggested targets would have on the duration of one’s attentional blink as compared to the CogLab activity you completed.

· Explain the reasoning behind your predictions.

· Present and discuss at least three occupations in which workers’ performance could be adversely affected by attentional blink. Identify and explain the types of problems or mistakes that might occur in such occupations due to the attentional blink.

· Several years ago, some vehicle models came with a heads-up display (HUD). Instead of looking down at a panel on the dashboard, speed, distance traveled, fuel level, and time appeared to be displayed over the hood of the car. Discuss this design in terms of divided attention and attentional blink. Do you think the design was a good idea?

Write a 4-page paper in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M2_A2.doc.

By Wednesday, April 22, 2015, deliver your assignment to the M2: Assignment 2 Dropbox.

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Explained the phenomenon of attention, described how time between targets affects the probability of seeing the second target, and analyzed how it can be eliminated or reduced in other conditions showing understanding and application of cognitive psychology concepts.	20
Applied knowledge of cognitive psychology concepts to propose other targets appropriate for experiment, predict their effects on attentional blink, and provide an explanation for predictions showing understanding and application of cognitive psychology concepts.	20
Identified three occupations that could adversely be affected by attentional blink and explained the types of problems or mistakes that might occur in such occupations due to attentional blink showing understanding and application of cognitive psychology concepts.	24
Related the concepts of divided attention and attentional blink to explain the heads-up display (HUD) design.	16
Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.	20
Total:	100

Week 3

Assignment 1: Discussion—Memory Models

Learning about the structure of memory can improve your study skills. In this assignment, you will discuss the academic applications of memory models and try to apply the principles to yourself. Use the readings for the module and the terminology of the subject and respond to these questions:

· You are a teaching assistant for an undergraduate history class and need to prepare a test. You want evidence to show that students know the material well. What kind of test would you prepare? What kind of test do you think requires the most in-depth knowledge? Why?

· As Dan took his history test, he could not recollect many of the dates he had studied. Dan had memorized some important dates just before the test. While he was doing this, he was also talking on the phone. Which of Dan's memory stores—sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), or long-term memory (LTM)—do you think were most affected by his phone conversation? Why? Could Dan have done something differently to prevent forgetting the dates? Explain.

· Identify two different kinds of mnemonic devices that could help Dan remember dates for his history test. Explain how they could be used.

· Melissa is disappointed that she received yet another “D” on a test. She studied for several hours by reading and rereading her textbook and class notes. Based on the levels-of-processing memory theory, explain why Melissa’s method of studying was not very effective? What could she have done differently?

· Using Baddeley’s working memory model, give an example of two tasks that could successfully be performed simultaneously (For example, can you listen to music while studying at the same time?). Discuss two other tasks that probably would interfere with each other. Make sure to discuss your answers in terms of the visuospatial scratchpad, the phonological loop, and the central executive.

Write your initial response in 4–5 paragraphs. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

By Saturday, April 25, 2015, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Wednesday, April 29, 2015, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses.

Discussion Grading Criteria and Rubric

This discussion assignment is worth 40 points and will be graded using the discussion rubric.

 

Assignment 2: LASA 1: False Memories

The US legal system places a lot of importance on eyewitness memory. Most people would report that they can accurately convey what they saw in a particular situation. However, these ideas are not supported by research. Instead, research shows that memory is quite malleable and is affected by many factors. This research repeatedly demonstrates that people do not remember exactly what they experienced. This module’s experiment will show you firsthand how memory for events is not always one hundred percent accurate.

Access the CogLab demonstration False Memory. Follow the instructions to complete the demonstration to familiarize yourself with false memory. Then locate at least one research study from a peer-reviewed journal that examined how eyewitness memory can be affected by false memories.

Based on your research, respond to the following situation:

You are considered to be an expert in false memories, and a local district attorney has therefore requested your expertise on the following case: 

On Tuesday, March 6, 2007, a bank was robbed in Slidell, LA. It was just after opening time, 9:04 a.m., and there were barely any customers, when a car arrived and parked in the side parking lot of the bank. Two men came out of the car and walked to the entrance. Both wore dark clothing. Upon entering the bank, they held out guns and asked for the manager. When the manager identified herself, the smaller of the two robbers ordered her to open the safe. Meanwhile, the other robber, a tall, and burley man, walked around holding his gun in his outstretched arm, and threatening the remaining employees and customers. The manager complied and the smaller robber collected all the money and valuables from the safe. After five minutes, the big robber asked if his companion was ready to go. When he was, the two ran back to their car, and drove away.

The district attorney has asked that you create a presentation about false memory and explain how it might influence this case. He asks that you specifically address the following:

· Describe false memory and false memory experiments. Use the CogLab experiment to illustrate false memory experiments, special distracters, and normal distracters.

· Describe at least one research study from a peer-reviewed journal that investigated how eyewitness memory can be affected by false memories.

· Explain how false memory might influence this particular case. Use specifics from the description of the case, the CogLab experiment, and research to support your answer.

· Using evidence from the case, the CogLab experiment, and outside research, justify why eyewitness testimonies should or should not carry weight in criminal proceedings.

· Discuss any procedures which can increase or reduce the occurrence of false memories when reporting eyewitness events.

Remember, your presentation is designed to help the jury understand false memory and how it might influence the eyewitness testimony of this case. You will have ten minutes to present.

Since this is a legal case, you must include formally written slide notes (proper grammar, proper paragraphs, APA formatting, and academic tone) with research to support your claims. The presentation will be a legal document in this case, so make it worthy of being legally binding!

Develop an 5–6-slide presentation in PowerPoint format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M3_A2.ppt.

By Wednesday, April 29, 2015, deliver your assignment to the M3: Assignment 2 Dropbox.

Course Project Grading Criteria and Rubric

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Describe false memory and false memory experiments. Use the CogLab experiment to illustrate false memory experiments, special distracters, and normal distracters.  (Course Objective [CO] 1)	28
Describe at least one research study from a peer-reviewed journal that investigated how eyewitness testimony can be affected by false memory. (CO 2)	28
Explain how false memory might influence this particular case. Use specifics from the description of the case, the CogLab experiment, and research to support your answer. (CO 3)	32
Using evidence from the case, the CogLab experiment, and outside research, justify why eyewitness testimonies should or should not carry weight in criminal proceedings. (CO 3)	36
Discuss any procedures which can increase or reduce the occurrence of false memories when reporting eyewitness events.  (CO 2, CO 3)	32
Presentation Components: Organization (12) Style (12)  Usage and Mechanics (16) APA Elements (4)	44
Total:	200

Week 4

Assignment 1: Discussion—Speech Acquisition

You have learned about the different aspects of memory in the previous modules. Language is critical not only to communicate with others but also to memory. Many memories are encoded using language. Memory is much more rudimentary when language skills are not present.

Research some of the general characteristics of language and the concept of speech acquisition in infants using your textbook, the Internet, and the Argosy University online library resources before responding to these questions:

· Researchers describe language as having six different properties. Describe the six properties. Which two properties do you think are the most important? Explain your answers with reasons.

· Jim and Sue just had a baby, and they are interested in learning more about the process of language acquisition. They have heard about the controversy surrounding the view that speech is special. Do you think speech is special or is it processed like other auditory stimuli? Explain your answer with reasons.

· Several African languages use clicks as consonants. Jim and Sue, who are English speaking, cannot hear the difference between the different types of clicks and have a difficult time learning one of these languages. If they were to move to Africa when their baby is about one-year old, do you think the baby would be able to hear the difference? Why or why not? Do you think she would hear the difference if they moved to Africa after her tenth birthday? Give reasons for your answers.

Write your initial response in 4–5 paragraphs. Apply APA standards to the citation of sources.

By Saturday, May 2, 2015, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Wednesday, May 6, 2015, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses.

Discussion Grading Criteria and Rubric

This discussion assignment is worth 40 points and will be graded using the discussion rubric.

 

Assignment 2: Preparation for Generating a Policy Proposal

Although some states and cities have passed laws to ban texting and using handheld phones while driving, there is no current law to ban all cell phone use while driving. However, according to the National Safety Council (2009), 28 percent of all crashes—1.6 million per year—are caused by cell phone use and texting by drivers. The mission of a new national nonprofit organization called FocusDriven, patterned after Mothers Against Drunk Driving, is to make phone use while driving as illegal and socially unacceptable as drunk driving. US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood supports FocusDriven and its efforts.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, LaHood said that this movement would become "an army of people traveling the countryside" to push for bans on cell-phone use and tough enforcement (Schmitz, 2010). As a political advocate interested in this issue, you will be writing a policy proposal that utilizes the current research to propose a solution to the issue and submitting it in Module 5.

Annotated Bibliography: Effect of Cell Phone Use

Before you can write this proposal research, you will need to conduct initial research on the science behind this initiative. For this assignment, use the Argosy University online library resources to locate research reports from peer-reviewed journals that discuss the effects of cell phone use on vision, attention, perception, or memory. In selecting at least five research reports from peer-reviewed journals relevant to the topic, make sure they address one or more of the following issues:

· How do texting, handheld phones, and hands-free phones compare with each other in their effects on driving?

· How do other, traditional distractions compare to cell phone use in their effects on driving (such as eating, attending to children, talking to passengers, listening to music/news, etc.)?

· Can cell phone use while driving be compared with drunk driving? Why or why not?

· What other variables (such as age) can affect driving while using a cell phone?

Based on your reading of the five articles, create an annotated bibliography for each of the five sources. Each annotation should consist of the APA reference entry followed by a paragraph-long summary of the articles. In your summary, provide answers for the questions below. For the last question, think about how the research results could be generalized to fit other environments or not be generalized.

· Summarize the main ideas in the reference. What were they investigating?

· How were the studies conducted? What was the sample size? Is it appropriate?

· Were the studies conducted in the real world or was a simulated environment used?

· How might these methodological considerations affect the research findings and the conclusions drawn from them? How does this article fit in with your paper? How did it influence your own ideas about your paper?

Your annotated bibliography should be at 3–4 pages in length. Click here for the annotated bibliography template. This document will help you complete your paper more successfully.

Be sure to include a title page and reference page listing your articles. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M4_A2.doc.

By Wednesday, May 6, 2015, deliver the assignment to the M4: Assignment 2 Dropbox.

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Identified five, relevant research reports that discussed the effects of cell phone use on vision, attention, perception, or memory.	20
Summarized each article and explained the relevance of each article to the questions asked in an annotated bibliography.	60
Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.	20
Total:	100

Schmitz, J. (2010, January 13). Cell phone ban for drivers is focus of new group.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved from  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10013/1027757-147.stm

National Research Council. (2010). National Safety Council estimates that at least 1.6 million crashes each year involve drivers using cell phones and texting. Retrieved from  http://www.nsc.org/pages/ nscestimates16millioncrashescausedbydriversusingcellphonesandtexting.aspx

Week 5

Assignment 1: LASA 2: Generating a Policy Proposal

Although some states and cities have passed laws to ban texting and using handheld phones while driving, there is no current law to ban all cell phone use while driving. However, according to the National Safety Council (2009), 28 percent of all crashes—1.6 million per year—are caused by cell phone use and texting by drivers. The mission of a new national nonprofit organization called FocusDriven, patterned after Mothers Against Drunk Driving, is to make phone use while driving as illegal and socially unacceptable as drunk driving. US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood supports FocusDriven and its efforts: According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, LaHood said this movement will become "an army of people traveling the countryside" to push for bans on cell phone use and tough enforcement (Schmit, 2010).

As a political advocate interested in this issue, you will be writing a policy proposal that utilizes the current research to propose a solution to the issue and submit it in this assignment.

Please note that your proposal is not an opinion/position paper, and your conclusions need to be based on the scientific research you reviewed earlier. Please follow the typical steps in proper academic writing (planning, outlining, drafting, revising, proofing, and editing) to generate the following proposal structure:

Introduction

In the introduction, you should set up the purpose for the proposal, provide a bit of background on the topic, and present your thesis.

Policy

Now that you have researched a variety of studies (in M4: Assignment 2), compile that information together to create a recommendation for policy makers regarding cell phone use while driving.

1: In a one-page summary, compare and contrast the results of the various studies regarding the cognitive abilities that are affected during cell phone use while driving.

2: Using that research, develop and explain particular recommendations for policy makers. For instance, restrict texting, or regulate the use of hand-held phones. All your recommendations must be supported by your research findings.

3: Based on the gaps in current research, describe the variables, populations, and situations which you would like to see future research address.

Conclusion

Review the important current research, your conclusions from that research, and how the future could look in both policy and research. Keep your goal in mind: To convince the reader to support your current policy proposal and future research to examine this issue more closely.

Your proposal should be written in APA style (which includes a title page with running header and a reference page), and free of typographical and grammatical errors. The body of your proposal should be 4–5 pages long.

By Monday, May 11, 2015, deliver your assignment to the M5: Assignment 1 Dropbox.

Course Project Grading Criteria and Rubric

Assignment 1 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Analysis and comparison of current research on cognitive effects of phone use, intoxication, age, and other factors while driving. (Course Objectives [CO]1 CO2)	72
Recommendations for public policy. (CO3)	72
Recommendations for future research.  (CO2, CO3)	92
Writing Components: Organization (16) Usage and Mechanics (16) APA Elements (24) Style (8)	64
Total:	300

Schmitz, J. (2010, January 13). Cell phone ban for drivers is focus of new group. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved from http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10013/1027757-147.stm.

National Research Council. (2010). National Safety Council Estimates that At Least 1.6 Million Crashes Each Year Involve Drivers Using Cell Phones and Texting. Available at  http://www.nsc.org/pages /nscestimates16millioncrashescausedbydriversusingcellphonesandtexting.aspx

 

Assignment 2: Discussion—Typical Reasoning

People often take shortcuts in problem solving and quickly arrive at answers. Known as heuristics, these shortcuts may increase the speed of decisions but may also decrease the accuracy of those decisions. The experiment used in this assignment deals with inaccurate decisions based on the conjunction fallacy, where people think the chance of two events happening at the same time is greater than just one event occurring. However, the chance of one event occurring is greater than two events occurring; hence, the fallacy.

Access the CogLab demonstration Typical Reasoning. Follow the instructions to complete the demonstration. Next, answer the following questions:

· For this demonstration, on average, do participants give higher ratings for single events or conjunctions of events? Based on the demonstration results, did you make your judgments by using objective probabilities? Why or why not?

· What is a stereotype? How do stereotypes relate to the findings of this demonstration?

· Respond to the following two situations:

· You and two of your coworkers have just interviewed a candidate for a job opening at your law firm. Your boss asks you what inferences you made about the candidate during the interview. What can you do to maximize your likelihood of making a correct inference?

· John is a young, energetic, muscular, and outgoing individual. Estimate the following for him:

· He is tall and likes sports

· He is tall, likes sports, and has lots of friends

Write your initial response in 4–5 paragraphs. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.  

By Sunday, May 10, 2015, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Wednesday, May 13, 2015, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses.

Discussion Grading Criteria and Rubric

This discussion assignment is worth 40 points and will be graded using the discussion rubric