Publications and research material
Connectionism, Artificial Life and Dynamical Systems an Introduction
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Introduction and background
Models of the human brain and their use in Psychological research
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Various approaches to modelling brain and behavioural functions provide valuable contributions to psychological research. Connectionist models are similar in construction to networks of neurons in the brain. They can be used to provide solutions to complex pattern based problems or to study damage of a simulated network of neurons. Artificial Life models simulate a system based on rules. They can be used to calculate population growth or play chess. Dynamical Systems are nonlinear equations that help to describe the complex interactions in problems or data. Each has strengths and weaknesses when used for research. Choosing the right model appropriate for your experiments is crucial. Increasingly throughout cognitive science and psychological research, models are used to better understand complex interactions in brain function, behaviour and cognition.
A discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the major theories and measurements of personality
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Outlines some key theories of personality and the methods used for measurement, a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses and comparisons of the different approaches. Personality has no complete theory, variations in methods of measurement can provide benefits as well as drawbacks when trying to find information about the desires and wishes driving a persons' personality.
The effect of mindset on solving anagrams
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Download the associated program
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To get into the right mindset is to prime our thoughts ready for tasks to follow, or our
past experiences affecting the way we attempt to solve a problem. This experiment
investigates the act of priming our thoughts with a category before attempting to solve
an anagram problem. This involves giving participants from a first year Psychology
degree course a list of anagrams, half of the anagrams with a category specified
beforehand and half random anagrams with an unspecified category. The correct or
incorrect responses are timed to see how quickly they solve each group of specified or
unspecified sets of anagrams. The results obtained from this experiment show quite
clearly that having a correct frame of reference for the anagram problems does indeed
aid the process of finding a solution. Although most extraneous variables were
controlled for, this experiment could have been slightly better designed, using
participants from a wider population and noting more details about the participants
that may have affected performance. The results still show enough significance as to
be relevant to a larger sample.
Schema driven memory and our recollection of detail
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A schema is a mental structure that represents our knowledge about the world. Previous experiments show that pre-existing knowledge can affect our judgement and recollection of information from memory. This experiment uses a possible schema of Roman numerals to recollect the image of a clock face shown to the participants, expecting the participants to use their schema rather than just their memory to draw a picture of a clock face that they have previously been shown. This experiment tests three hypotheses to determine if it is their pre-existing schema that is affecting their judgement. Using three different instructions given to three groups of participants, they are asked to draw a clock face that uses Roman numerals from memory one group having been pre-warned that they will need to remember the clock face, one group having no warning and the third group simply copying the clock face whilst it is being shown. A note of the orientation of the numerals, the representation of the number four, and whether the participants noticed anything odd about the picture. The results in two of the three conditions prove to be significant. The participants were more likely to use their Roman numeral schema to represent the number four and also were more likely to orientate the numerals perpendicularly like most clocks rather than centripetally like the picture. The results did not provide any significance where the participants were asked to note if they noticed anything odd about the clock face. Schema theory can be beneficial providing a shortcut to a general representation about an object or our perceptions, or can be harmful and cause us to incorrectly recall information that we have seen.
Can an analogy really help me understand something new?
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An experiment into the use of analogies to understand problems.