Conformity experiments

scroll down to Janet Ruscher

http://chartrand2.pbworks.com/w/page/15591689/Groups%20and%20Behaviour

Story of stuff

This is the link to the 2o minute video that we saw in class before the March break. Related to it is this New York Times article about someone trying to get rid of all his stuff and live the simple life. Publish your comments/reactions below.

Human uniqueness

Just came across this 9 minute video. Be patient, the last 3 mins gets to the heart of the matter.

Polly wanna Ph D

Questions for Polly Wanna Ph.D and Talking with (and about) animals articles

1. What can Alex the parrot do that is special?
2. What safeguards has Pepperberg put into her experiments to make sure Alex isn’t merely responding to cues or gestures or being generously interpreted by humans?
3. Is intelligence needed for communication?
4. Is language uniquely human or can animals acquire/develop it as well?
5. What is Pepperberg trying to prove?
6. What evidence does she use to support her conclusions?
7. What is (are) the research method(s) that Pepperberg uses?
8. How have her research findings been used?
9. What does the case of “clever Hans” reveal and how might it relate to Pepperberg’s studies?
10. Read Talking with (and about) animals (p.25 -26 package )
    Whose side do you take, Yale linguistics professor, Anderson, or researcher, Savage-Rumbaugh? Give your reasons.

The song remains (or doesn’t remain) the same

In the online version of today’s Toronto Star (Saturday, Feb 9), there is this article on a very APSy subject. The article could be a good source for the first course assignment that is coming soon – the uniqueness of man (or not?) vis-a vis the rest of the animal kingdom. In the print version of the same article, the headline has the title, The song doesn’t remain the same. Can anyone explain the cultural reference of this? And, if you can, please post the appropriate Youtube link.

Hello Semester 2 (2013) APS students!

Welcome to the world of APS. This is the fifth time I have used a website, for APS students, in order to post material and generate discussion. To get a general feel for the course, check out this short promotional video from the York Mills Social Studies Department http://www.youtube.com/YMCISocSci#p/u/0/5jKqOcLyMmM

I’m not much of a techy and would welcome any suggestions to improve the layout and/or  make it more user-friendly. Hopefully, using the site will:

• save paper
• make communication easier, especially if you miss a class
• get you motivated to do your own research
• encourage you to share your research and opinions with others in the class

View Course of Study, especially to check due dates for major assignments. If you haven’t already completed the paper copy of the student information sheet , download it and e-mail the attachment (change the attachment name to your name) to me at timothy.heffernan@tdsb.on.ca

Also, if you haven’t got the sheet which needs to be signed by your parent/guardian, please download it here