New ToPIX Content

For the last week participants in the various teaching of psychology listservs have been contributing their favorite examples of positive/negative reinforcement/punishment.  If yours isn’t there, be sure to add it by editing the page or adding a comment at the end of the page.  You can also find some more examples of schedules of reinforcement.  Erin Hardin has contributed a handy document for instructors new to teaching operant conditioning.

This week NPR reported on a study that found that children’s self-control is correlated with their later success.  You can find a link to that study in the In the News: Development section of ToPIX.  This fits in well with the video (now available in the Video: Development area) that shows how different kids react when given a marshmallow that they can either eat now or, if they save it, they can have a second one later.  

There’s been much discussion on the TIPS listserv of how an engineering student created a live replica of Escher’s waterfall.  See the video and the likely building plans at Video: Perception.

This past week reporter Serene Branson, while reporting from the Grammy’s, had a migraine that scrambled her speech.  The interview with her, including footage from her episode, is available from Video: Neuroscience.  (Thanks to Mike Palij of the TIPS listserv for this story.)  Continuing in the area of neuroscience, the NY Times reports that the runner’s high may be due to endocannabinoids.  Access that article through In the News: Neuroscience.  

Other news stories making it to ToPIX this week include an NPR story on how women hesitate to ask for a raise (In the News: Gender/Sexuality) and a NY Times report from a participant in this year’s U.S. Memory Championship (In the News: Memory).