Snippets From The World Of Psychology - July 2008
Tourette’s Syndrome and 9/11
Tourette’s Syndrome is often associated with uncontrollable physical tics such as eye blinking as well as vocal outbursts (including excessive swearing). This is not a rare condition, with up to 1% of children suffering from this syndrome and about 1% having tic disorders. Extreme Tourette’s Syndrome is rare in adults as the disorder often dissipates with age. Intelligence (IQ) is not impaired by the syndrome.Researchers in London recently revealed the case of a ten-year-old boy with Tourette’s Syndrome and obsessive compulsive symptoms. He was described as ‘extremely pleasant and likeable’ and with good school grades. The boy, referred initially before 9/11, was seen two weeks after the event. He was ‘tortured’ by his tics and guilt-ridden, believing that the disaster happened because he had failed to walk on a particular white mark on the road. Rituals, including dangerous knife-touching activities, had been part of his life.
A mixture of drug treatments and counselling brought him to a realisation of the truth. The authors (Robertson and Cavanna) believe that the nature of modern media will lead to more cases where vulnerable individuals suffer harmful effects.
Teaching Mathematics – A Counter-Intuitive Approach?
We often hear it spouted that students need to be given practical examples in order to understand mathematics. However, a recent study by Kaminski, Sloutsky and Heckler (2008) suggests that it may be best to keep things at an abstract level.In the study in question, students were taught the rules governing mathematical relations between three items in a group. Only those taught using abstract symbols were able to transfer what they had learned to somewhat novel, real-life situations. On the other hand, students taught with the metaphorical aid of water jugs, slices of pizza or tennis balls in a container, were unable to transfer what they had learned.
A further experiment reinforced this message by demonstrating that students who learned in a purely abstract condition out-performed those who were given a mixture between concrete and abstract teachings.
In effect, presenting mathematical concepts through traditional symbolic notation may be more effective than using ‘good examples’. However, it could be argued that in order to ‘engage’ the students, and enhance motivation and appropriate classroom behaviour, practical applications may still be useful.
Why pay more?
Many of us seek advice from others but to what extent do we value this advice and do we differentiate in terms of ‘quality’? A recent study by Francesca Gino (2008) indicates that we are more likely to use advice for which we have paid rather than when that advice is free, even if there is no difference in quality between the two sources. Admittedly, this study involved students (unfortunately, a common source of subjects in psychology studies). Nevertheless, the findings could be explained by a phenomenon in decision-making theory known as the sunk cost fallacy. This theory proposes that we endeavour to justify our past decisions/investments through our present and future behaviour. This phenomenon is sometimes known also as the ‘Concorde effect’, referring to the continued funding, by the British and French governments, of the joint development of the Concorde even after it was no longer economically viable. Interestingly, this study by Gino also showed that the students took even more account of advice if it was made more expensive. I believe these phenomena can also be considered in the light of the theory of cognitive dissonance which postulates that individuals endeavour to reduce dissonance/strain (between two contradictory ideas) by modifying or rejecting one of these ideas.The notion of the sunk cost fallacy is obviously very topical given the turmoil in the financial markets. Of course, psychologists have a good deal to offer in terms of the understanding of behavioural economics and finance and the psychology of investing. Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist, was a co-winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in Prospect theory, a theory which describes how individuals evaluate potential losses and gains. Kahneman’s work has illustrated the importance of psychological and cognitive processes in the workings of our financial markets globally.