Tall Tales About Mind and Brain
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Tall Tales about Mind and Brain Supporting Resource Pack for Teachers Contents The Royal Society of Edinburgh ..................................................................................................1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................2 Supporting Resources for Teachers.............................................................................................4 Memory and Learning...............................................................................................................4 - Memory a User’s Guide. Professor Alan Baddeley CBE FRS,Professor of Psychology, University of York - The Myth of the Incredible Witness. Professor Tim Valentine, Professor of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London - The Perils of Intuition. Professor David G Myers, Professor of Psychology, Hope College, Holland - Magic and the Paranormal: The Psychology. Dr Peter Lamont, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, the University of Edinburgh Intelligence ................................................................................................................................8 - Bigger and Better? Brain Size and Species. Dr David Carey, School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen - Intelligence. Professor Michael Anderson, Department of Psychology, the University of Western Australia, Perth - Myths about Intelligence and Old Age. Professor Ian J Deary FBA FRSE, Professor of Differential Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh Language and Communication.................................................................................................9 - Facts and Fallacies about Bilingualism. Professor Antonella Sorace, Professor of Developmental Linguistics, Linguistics and English Language, University of Edinburgh - Are we in our Right Minds? Professor Michael C Corballis, Department of Psychology, University of Auckland - Lie Detection: Pitfalls and Opportunities. Professor Aldert Vrij, Professor of Social Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth - Massimo Polidoro’s Magic Show. Massimo Polidoro Brain and Behaviour................................................................................................................14 - Lunar Madness. Professor Eric H Chudler, Director of Education and Outreach and Research Associate Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington - Why do we believe in Strange Things?. Professor Chris French, Professor of Psychology, Psychology Department, Goldsmiths College, University of London - The Belief Engine. Professor James E Alcock, Department of Psychology, University of York, Toronto Recommended Websites – Overview........................................................................................21 Student Evaluation Sheets.........................................................................................................24 Links to the Higher Biology and Psychology Curricula.............................................................26 The Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland’s National Academy of Science & Letters. An independent body with charitable status, its multidisciplinary fellowship of 1400 men and women of international standing represents a knowledge resource for the people of Scotland. Committed to its Royal Charter of 1783 for the “advancement of learning and useful knowledge” the Society recognises the important role it can play in today’s Scotland. Working as part of the UK and within a global context, the RSE seeks to contribute to Scotland’s social, economic and cultural wellbeing by: • organising conferences and lectures for the specialist and for the general public on topics of national and international importance; • providing independent, expert advice to key decision-makers in Scotland; • awarding over £1.7million annually to Scotland’s top young academics to promote research in Scotland; • enabling leading Scottish-based researchers to collaborate with the best of their international counterparts; • inspiring school children in classrooms from the Borders to the Northern Isles and promoting their interest in science, society and culture; • producing academic journals of international standing. The Tall Tales about Mind and Brain was organised as part of the RSE’s programme of events for young people and the wider public from across Scotland. The content of this Supporting Resource Pack for Teachers contains individual views that do not necessarily represent the views of the RSE. For further information on the Young People’s activities, please contact the Education Team at: The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Tel: 0131 240 5000 22-26 George Street, Fax: 0131 240 5024 Edinburgh, Email: [email protected] EH2 2PQ Web: www.royalsoced.org.uk Tall Tales About Mind and Brain 1 Introduction Tall Tales about Mind and Brain The Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Conference Tall Tales about Mind and Brain aims to unravel psychology and neuroscience topics that are seen in the popular press but are often misinterpreted; the so-called Tall Tales. The programme is designed to complement the Higher Human Biology and Psychology curricula. The themes include: • Memory and Learning, including Intelligence; • Language and Communication; • Brain and Behaviour. Topics will challenge conventional thinking and explore myths and 'old wives tales' such as: • Do we really use only 10% of our brains? • Can we stimulate the creativity of the right hemisphere? • Can we believe our memories? • Can one become more intelligent listening to Mozart's music? • Can we detect a liar? The Conference, and this Supporting Resource Pack for Teachers, therefore covers questions that are often discussed in the popular press, or are argued about in school lessons and therefore does not just approach the subject matter from a purely scientific perspective. To this end, the most accrued beliefs about how the mind works will be evaluated in the light of the evidence that we have to support them (or not). This pack has been provided for you to use with your students before and after the Conference, as well as independently. The pack includes supporting background information and relevant websites for the following sessions: 1. Tall Tales on Memory and Learning. a. Memory: A User’s Guide b. The Myth of the Incredible Witness c. The Perils of Intuition d. Magic and the Paranormal: The Psychology 2. Tall Tales on Intelligence. a. Bigger and Better? Brain Size and Species? b. Intelligence c. Myths about Intelligence and Old Age 3. Tall Tales on Language and Communication. a. Facts and Fallacies about Bilingualism b. Are we in our Right Minds? c. Lie Detection: Pitfalls and Opportunities d. Massimo Polidoro’s Magic Show 4. Tall Tales on Brain and Behaviour. a. Lunar Madness b. Why do we believe in Strange Things? c. The Belief Engine 5. A brief overview as to what each recommended website contains. 6. Student evaluation sheets to aid learning and comprehension. The evaluation sheets are intended to be used as an exercise immediately following the Conference (or in conjunction with the resource notes within this pack, independent of the Conference) to check understanding and to aid learning. To this end students should bring a pen and paper for notetaking Tall Tales About Mind and Brain 2 Tall Tales about Mind and Brain The Royal Society of Edinburgh purposes during the Conference and complete the evaluation sheets as a classroom-based or homework activity in the future. 7. Links to the Higher Human Biology and Psychology curricula. 8. Additional Information In addition to this resource pack, two books: 1. Sergio Della Sala (Ed.) Mind Myths. Exploring popular assumptions about the mind and the brain. Wiley, 1999. ISBN-10: 0471983039 / ISBN-13: 978-0471983033 and 2. Sergio Della Sala (Ed.) Tall Tales about the Mind & Brain: Separating facts from fiction. Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN-10: 0198568770 / ISBN-13: 978-0198568773 are both recommended as background reading to Tall Tales about Mind and Brain as both books summarise the thoughts of the speakers who will be at the Conference, in an accessible language, and are available in paperback. Tall Tales About Mind and Brain 3 1. TALL TALES ON MEMORY AND LEARNING a. Memory: A User’s Guide Professor Alan Baddeley CBE FRS, Professor of Psychology, University of York “Does your lack of recall hinder you in negotiations or an argument? Does it cause embarrassment when you can’t remember names or birthdays?” The book Your Memory A User’s Guide written by Professor Alan Baddeley CBE FRS, Professor of Psychology, University of York, one of the world’s leading experts in the human memory, is fascinating and accessible and clearly explains how your memory works and how to make it work for you. Combining anecdotes and exercises with scientific developments and statistics, Alan Baddeley presents this complex topic in a highly accessible way. This comprehensive book is “recommended for the specialist and non- specialist alike” (American Journal of Psychology). b. The Myth of the Incredible Witness Professor Tim Valentine, Professor of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London Students can test their own powers of observation as an eyewitness at: http://www.youramazingbrain.org/testyourself/eyewitness.htm Professor Tim Valentine’s publications on eyewitness identification can be downloaded at: www.valentinemoore.co.uk/trv/ The most