Awe-Inspiring Savants

     So, this week I've decided to do my blog a little differently. I was reading through the textbook chapter on "Theories of Intelligence" and came to the term "Savant", and since then (about 3 hours ago), I have been researching and looking in to all sorts of these amazing people and the astonishing and unbelievable things they can accomplish.
 
     A savant, by definition, is an individual with mental retardation who is extremely talented in one domain. But, if I had to define these people in my own words, I would say they are more along the lines of having superhuman abilities, not just talents. Most savants are born with these abilities, but in some rare cases, brain damage can also be the provocateur.

     I looked up quite a few savants and came across 3 or 4 that I found most intriguing.

• Rain Man (Kim Peek): Ok, am I the only one who thought the Rain Man was a fictional character played by Dustin Hoffman? Well, his real name is Kim Peek and he actually was (he died December 21, 2009) one of the world's smartest people. Kim was born with severe brain damage. His doctor had told his parents that he would never be able to walk, or learn anything and suggested they put him in an institution and "forget about him". Tough luck to that doctor because Kim grew to be an amazing scholar and has read over 10,000 books. He reads books 2 pages at a time (the left eye on one page and the right on the other) and remembers every single thing about them! He remembers dates, cities, zip codes, and even when famous people lived in those zip codes and at what time! Amazed yet? Here's a video I really loved :)

• Stephen Wiltshire: I have always thought that being a photographer would be a really fun, and amazing job. To be able to see the beauty in something and capture it with a click of a button would be incredible. If I could see something, just one time, capture it in my head, and then draw it out is something I had never even thought possible. Stephen Wiltshire does just that though, and it's almost too amazing to be true. Although Stephen was born with people believing he was mute and then diagnosed with autism, he grew up to love drawing. Anything from buses and landmarks to entire cities with incredible detail, Stephen could draw from memory. Describing his amazing abilities can only go so far, so, here's an astonishing video of what he can do :)

• Daniel Tammet: Recite Pi? 3.1415... something something something. Ok, so I'm no mathmagician, but I didn't know Pi could be recited up to 22,514 digits, which is how far Daniel Tammet recited from MEMORY. Daniel has a rare form of synesthesia which allows him to see numbers up to 10,000 in different shapes, colors, and textures. He can also speak 10 different languages and learns them extremely quick (He learned to speak Icelandic in 1 week!). Daniel was born with autism and had sessions of epilepsy throughout his childhood. He was told he would never be up to par with most children his age, and would grow to be at the metal age of about 15.

    
     So, after hours of researching, wikipedia skimming, YouTube watching (with my son sitting next to me TOTALLY amazed in what he's seeing), I have to say that I am really excited and feel great about doing this little bit of extra research on savants. They are amazing people who just prove that it is ok to be different, to be seen as "feeble minded" by the public, and to show that you can make a difference no matter who you are. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did! :)

Thanks for reading and watching!

-Keisha

Interacting With Others

     For this weeks blog I decided to talk a little about Chapter 5.3 in the text book. This chapter basically talks about how, and at what age, children hit different milestones in playing and interacting with one another. Being a mother myself, I found this whole chapter to be very fun, and engaging to read.

Like my previous blogs, I'll go over some main concepts on "The Joys of Play" :)

• Parallel Play: This stage of play normally takes place a little after a child's first birthday. It is when the child plays alone, but remains interested in what others around him/her are doing.

• Simple Social Play: This stage happens when the child is between 15 and 18 months old. Toddlers now begin to semi-interact with one another, such as smiling, or talking as they play.

• Cooperative Play: This last stage of play normally happens around the child's second birthday. This type of play is a when children begin to really collaborate with each other, taking on a more organized type of play that includes each child having a different role.

     One of the things I found most interesting about this chapter was the "Gender Differences in Play". I never really thought about how girls prefer to play with girls on their own, and same for boys preferring to spend their time around other boys. I guess I mainly thought that they were happier playing with their own genders because of their parents encouraging that sort of play. When I read that girls are typically enabling (remarks that sustain or support a certain action) with what they say or do, and boys are often constricting (trying to make one person be the "victor" in the situation, by threatening or contradicting the others), It was a big eye opener. I never really see that in my son, but then again, it's one of those things you don't normally notice until you're looking for it I guess.

     I can definitely relate to this section of reading. Normally, when I'm taking my son to the playground, birthday party, sleep over, or play date of some sort with other kids, I tend to try and get him to interact with all kids his age, be it boy, or girl. I was always a little curious why he wasn't so interested with playing with the opposite sex. If he were one of those kids who was all in to karate, wrestling, or some other type of aggressive play, I think I would have just pegged it as that and left it alone. But since he's very content with just sitting and reading quietly or playing "restaurant" I always kind of figured he would enjoy playing with any kid (boy or girl) who enjoyed the same things as he does. This section definitely helped with explaining the other factors at play with why they choose the same gender in their interplay.

     I think if I could take something and research it further from this section it would have to be on altruism (when a child does prosocial behavior such as helping another child or sharing, where the child does not directly benefit from the action). I just thought it was nice to see that kids are starting this kind of behavior at such a young age (around 18 months of age). In the book it states that scientists believe that we are biologically predisposed to be helpful, to share, and to be concerned with others needs. It also states in the book that people who are more altruistic tend to get more help in return. Which to me, is kind of like "You only get what you give". I just thought it was neat to see that children so young are engaging in this type of benevolent behavior :) For me, I'd just like to dig a bit further into why exactly that is.

     Again, this chapter was really fun and stimulating for me to read about. Seems like every chapter so far has been one to make you take a minute and think about things from another point of view :)

Thanks for reading!

-Keisha

Temperament

     This week I have decided to do my reflection blog on temperament. It's always been something I've been curious about (what contributes to it, how it affects us as we grow up, etc...) and so, while reading this section, I was very interested and intrigued.

     As defined, temperament is a consistent style or pattern of behavior. Basically, any aspect of a persons personality, such as, extroversion and introversion.

     The three dimensions of temperament, devised by Mary K. Rothbart:

• Surgency/extroversion: The span of which a child is happy, active, and looking for stimulation.
• Negative affect: The span to which a child is upset, angry, shy, and fearful.
• Effortful control: The span to which a child can focus his/her attention, doesn't get distracted, and responds.

     I definitely found it interesting to read about stability of temperament from infancy to toddler years. A great example of that was the Fels Longitudinal Project, which studied physical and psychological development from infancy. This study showed that fearful Pre-K children tended to be discouraged as they grew to be older children and into their teen years.

     I can  relate to this section of the reading with my 5 year old son, Colton. He was very very active while I was pregnant with him (like he was doing some hardcore gymnastics). After I had him, and as the months progressed, he still was extremely active. He was never really tired, was difficult to soothe, cried A LOT (definitely more that the 2-3 hours a day they say is the norm in the book), and was just a little more defiant. On that same aspect though, he is no longer a difficult child. I think the idea of environment is really significant in the temperament concept. I know they say it isn't a sure thing- that if your child is difficult as a baby, he/she may not be difficult as they grow older- and my son kind of proves that. Even though he was very difficult as an infant, and up until he was about 3 years old, he is no longer like that. I think it was definitely impacted on how I have raised him, the environment he's been in.

     I think if I could learn more about something from this section of reading, it would definitely be more on how the environment impacts how a child's temperament is formed as they grow older. They stated how you could kind of "help" how the child will grow up, as in reading to them if they are quiet babies, or being more physical with active babies. I guess I would just like to know if you can stabilize a temperament by giving a good mix of both of those things.

     These two chapters were really fun for me to read. Examining and studying how children grow into adults, and what gives the boost to what part of the personality, is engaging and thought-provoking.

Thanks for reading!

-Keisha

    
    

First Reflection Blog for Psych 200

I decided to do my reflection blog on some of the topics brought up in the article "The Identity Dance". I really enjoyed reading this article because, to me, the whole "Nature Vs. Nurture" concept is one that definitely piqued my curiosity.

Quick review of some of the information:

• Nature- Genetic or hereditary influences
• Nurture- Life experiences or influences from the surrounding environment.

Both of these are said to impact how a person gets their distinct personality, and what kind of person they will become.

I found it interesting to read specifically about how it takes a combination of genes (specifically the short version of the serotonin transporter gene) and life turmoil's, or being raised differently, to cause a disadvantage in how you might handle, or react, to specific events.

My favorite example of the Nature Vs. Nurture concept was George, the monkey. He was separated from his mother very early on and was raised in a nursery with other monkeys his age. He also had a short version of the serotonin transporter gene. Because of those combined, he is more susceptible to being aggressive, alcoholism, and being a little more "standoffish" around new people and objects. His cousin, Jim, on the other hand, was raised by his mother and doesn't display those same attributes.

When I was in grade school (probably 2nd or 3rd grade), I had 2 twin girls in my class with me. My teacher called them "Thing One" and "Thing Two" (awful, I know). You could definitely tell which one would have been the "George" in that situation, and which one the "Jim". One was more outgoing, friendly, would share, laughed, played, and was just super excitable. The other, not so much. She would throw tantrums.... A LOT, liked to distance herself, and would get upset very easily. After reading this article, it definitely made me wonder what exactly were the underlying issues, or differences between these girls who seemed so identical in every way.

I think if I could choose to learn more on a topic from this reading, it would be something along the lines of how peoples upbringing relates to aggression. They discussed a little about how having low monoamine oxidase in the brain, combined with being neglected or abused as a child, would contribute to being aggressive or being a part of violent behaviors as adults. I guess I would just like to study, or research what kind of neglect or abuse would constitute this type of lifestyle for an adult.

All and all, I really found this article and the whole chapter one from the book entertaining, educational, and fun.

Thanks for reading!

-Keisha