On Tuesday, February 10, we visited Professor Myriam Mongrain's Introduction to Psychology course. The topic was thinking, with information about problem-solving, judgments, and problems that people have when we try to do these things.
When we first came into the lecture hall, it seemed like there was a party. There were a lot of people there, maybe 500, and there was music a high volume (the lecture hall had a good sound system). The songs were “Stupid Girl” by Garbage, and “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. These are popular songs, and good choices for the lecture topic. (Neo says he knows “Stupid Girl” by Pink, but not by Garbage).
So Professor Mongrain is fashionable – both in clothes and in the choice of music. Even if York students come from lots of different cultures, if they are mostly the same age, they will all know these songs. It’s international pop culture. Apparently, she knows them, too. We looked back through her powerpoint lectures to see what songs she used for other lectures, like Bon Jovi and Amy Winehouse (“Rehab” for the lecture on “Hypnosis and Drugs”). When she stopped the music, that was a good signal to show when the lecture was going to start.
Students around us were mostly taking notes (we thought about 50% of those were using regular notebooks and pens, about 30% had laptops, and about 20% had printouts of the powerpoint slides in notes format). But some were doing other things, like chatting on MSN, online shopping, chatting, and flirting. Ella and Neo saw a couple in the row in front of us. The guy was trying to pick up the girl, and she was o.k. with that.
Most of the students looked like non-native English speakers, Ahmad says maybe 85%. Most of those were Asian, but lots of them were Indian, too, and there were some Latin American people and others, like African. There were a few, but not too many, in traditional Muslim clothing.
Professor Mongrain started by giving some good advice about the exam the students will have next week. She told them what to study and what not to worry about. She told them that the short answer questions would probably come from her lectures, and the multiple-choice questions might come from the textbook only. She also said they should use the powerpoint slides to help them guess the questions that might appear on the exam.
So Professor Mongrain is fashionable – both in clothes and in the choice of music. Even if York students come from lots of different cultures, if they are mostly the same age, they will all know these songs. It’s international pop culture. Apparently, she knows them, too. We looked back through her powerpoint lectures to see what songs she used for other lectures, like Bon Jovi and Amy Winehouse (“Rehab” for the lecture on “Hypnosis and Drugs”). When she stopped the music, that was a good signal to show when the lecture was going to start.
Students around us were mostly taking notes (we thought about 50% of those were using regular notebooks and pens, about 30% had laptops, and about 20% had printouts of the powerpoint slides in notes format). But some were doing other things, like chatting on MSN, online shopping, chatting, and flirting. Ella and Neo saw a couple in the row in front of us. The guy was trying to pick up the girl, and she was o.k. with that.
Most of the students looked like non-native English speakers, Ahmad says maybe 85%. Most of those were Asian, but lots of them were Indian, too, and there were some Latin American people and others, like African. There were a few, but not too many, in traditional Muslim clothing.
Professor Mongrain started by giving some good advice about the exam the students will have next week. She told them what to study and what not to worry about. She told them that the short answer questions would probably come from her lectures, and the multiple-choice questions might come from the textbook only. She also said they should use the powerpoint slides to help them guess the questions that might appear on the exam.
Problems with problem solving include functional fixedness or the way mental sets help or hinder. Stress leads to fixation.
Problems with judgments include
the overconfidence effect
the availability heuristic
the representativeness heuristic
the conjunction fallacy, framing, and
the alternative outcomes effect (an example of "bounded rationality," which is an idea from economics).
We wonder which problem with judgement the following old Taoist story is about:
The Farmer’s Luck
There was once an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years.
One day, his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.
“Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it two other wild horses.
“Such good luck!” the neighbors exclaimed.
We wonder which problem with judgement the following old Taoist story is about:
The Farmer’s Luck
There was once an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years.
One day, his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.
“Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it two other wild horses.
“Such good luck!” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Maybe,” replied the farmer.
The next day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown off, and broke his leg.
Again, the neighbors came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“Such bad luck,” they said.
“Maybe,” answered the farmer.
The day after that, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army to fight in a war. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by.
“Such good luck!” cried the neighbors.
“Maybe,” said the farmer.
(this version comes from Jon J. Muth's Zen Shorts)
Or how about this story from Saudi Arabia:
The King and his Advisor: "la allahu khair"
There was a king who had an advisor always by his side. After an unfortunate incident, the king lost one of his fingers. The king, who was furious after this incident, tells the advisor what happened.
The advisor simply replies "la-alahu khair" which translates into "perhaps it’s for the best"
The King was appalled that this was all his advisor could say after such a tragedy. He immediately had him imprisoned.
Time passed, and the king took a journey on a ship. The ship sank, but the King was able to find refuge on a large piece of wood which kept him afloat until he reached the nearest shoreline. There, the king found a tribe consisting of cannibals. They thought that the King would make a great gift/feast for their master. Before they could finish preparing the King as a meal for their master, a man from the tribe noticed the King's missing finger. He immediately pointed out that the king was “flawed” and not in perfect condition and it would be an insult to their master if the King was served to him.
They let the King go, and he eventually found his way back home. Upon arrival he went directly to the cell where his advisor had been kept and told him what happened on his journey and that if it hadn't been for his missing finger, he would have been someone's meal! The King decided to release his advisor and apologized for throwing him in prison. The King asked if there was anything he could do in return in return for his advisor’s forgiveness.
The advisor just replied "la-alahu khair" (perhaps it’s for the best).
The king was amazed how his advisor could not be upset about what was done to him, and asked "how is it for the best? You were thrown in prison!"
The advisor simply replied, “If I hadn't been in prison, I would have been with you on that ship. I would have floated to shore with you, and although the group of cannibals found you to be flawed because of your missing finger, they would have noticed that my body was free from such flaws. You would have been pardoned, however they would have served me to their master instead!”
The next day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown off, and broke his leg.
Again, the neighbors came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“Such bad luck,” they said.
“Maybe,” answered the farmer.
The day after that, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army to fight in a war. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by.
“Such good luck!” cried the neighbors.
“Maybe,” said the farmer.
(this version comes from Jon J. Muth's Zen Shorts)
Or how about this story from Saudi Arabia:
The King and his Advisor: "la allahu khair"
There was a king who had an advisor always by his side. After an unfortunate incident, the king lost one of his fingers. The king, who was furious after this incident, tells the advisor what happened.
The advisor simply replies "la-alahu khair" which translates into "perhaps it’s for the best"
The King was appalled that this was all his advisor could say after such a tragedy. He immediately had him imprisoned.
Time passed, and the king took a journey on a ship. The ship sank, but the King was able to find refuge on a large piece of wood which kept him afloat until he reached the nearest shoreline. There, the king found a tribe consisting of cannibals. They thought that the King would make a great gift/feast for their master. Before they could finish preparing the King as a meal for their master, a man from the tribe noticed the King's missing finger. He immediately pointed out that the king was “flawed” and not in perfect condition and it would be an insult to their master if the King was served to him.
They let the King go, and he eventually found his way back home. Upon arrival he went directly to the cell where his advisor had been kept and told him what happened on his journey and that if it hadn't been for his missing finger, he would have been someone's meal! The King decided to release his advisor and apologized for throwing him in prison. The King asked if there was anything he could do in return in return for his advisor’s forgiveness.
The advisor just replied "la-alahu khair" (perhaps it’s for the best).
The king was amazed how his advisor could not be upset about what was done to him, and asked "how is it for the best? You were thrown in prison!"
The advisor simply replied, “If I hadn't been in prison, I would have been with you on that ship. I would have floated to shore with you, and although the group of cannibals found you to be flawed because of your missing finger, they would have noticed that my body was free from such flaws. You would have been pardoned, however they would have served me to their master instead!”
