Classical Conditioning on 'The Office'

While I'm on the topic of psychology (see previous post), I might as well mention this video. This is something I used for a class assignment like three years ago:

This episode of 'The Office' demonstrates a specific type of learning called classical conditioning. This type of learning involves pairing a neutral stimulus with a unconditioned stimulus (UCS) known to evoke a specific emotion or behavior. If the conditioning is successful, exposure to the neutral stimulus will bring about the behavior caused by the UCS even when the UCS is absent. This behavior is called the conditioned response.

Extremely Weird Sigmund Freud Video

You might not find this very funny if you haven't taken an intro to psych class yet. If you have, then enjoy it! It's really weird and disturbing!

No wonder why there are so many psychology majors. Who wouldn't want to go to class if all you do is watch this stuff? 

Good Books to Read

1. The Pathological Protein by Philip Yam (2003)

This is an excellent read if you're interested in diseases and whatnot. The author gives a general overview of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) and their causative agent, the prion. I wouldn't recommend citing this work if you're writing a scientific paper, but it's definitely worth reading. There's a huge amount of background information in the introduction chapters. You can probably skip this if you've taken a few college-level biology classes. I also didn't bother reading the chapters about TSEs affecting deer and elk. I really couldn't care less about some decrepit, senile deer running around aimlessly in a forest preserve. Anyways, this book is great because it explains how Mad Cow Disease started and how it was transmitted to humans. And it mentions how brain-eating cannibals from Papua New Guinea contracted kuru. Who wouldn't be interested in that? These kuru victims are the closest thing to zombies that have ever and will ever exist. Enjoy learning about prions! (They're by far my favorite pathogens!)

2. Packrat: A Tale of Compulsive Hoarding by Tom Hixson (2010)

This book is not for the faint of heart. The author spares no detail when describing the living conditions of an individual suffering from an extreme case of obsessive compulsive hoarding syndrome. The hoarder, Robert, literally kept everything--even things that are meant to be flushed down the toilet. Additionally, the book explains the possible causes and cures of this mental illness. By far, the best chapters are the ones that explain the disorder from a neuroscientific perspective. The brain scans are the best part!

This book is really obscure, and it's haphazardly thrown together. Also, it looks like it was probably printed in some middle-aged guy's mom's basement. Nevertheless, it's a great read. Get a copy if you ever have a chance.