Examples for Final
Lectures
Lecture 13:
Example of golden period in childhood where we learned to read and we enjoyed it (10-12)
prof talking about the Hardy boy books and allowing
likes inconveniences so he can read more
25-35 was when things went downhill for his reading
Ex. of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and J.K. Rowling as intrinsic motivation
Prof gave his nephew Harry Potter and as he was reading it to him realized he enjoyed it. Developed a routine of every June rereading the previous book before reading the new ones. Reread
Hunger games: Daughter wanted to read the books and he read along with her. Identified with Peeta. Examples of unrequited love which he loved. Loved all the books.
Example of intrinsic motivation with prof’s daughter
clip of prof’s daughter talking about books she read
professional families have their kids learn to read earlier than most and are exposed to books sooner
Mention of "Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery
planned trip around books daughter read
Daughter in fourth grade was made to have contest of how much they read to win a prize
change from intrinsic motivation to external motivation
In fifth grade teacher did not let daughter read popular books and instead made her read more challenging books
Lecture 14
example of prof’s nephew and how praise affects kids
prof would praise nephew for his drawings
compared him to Marc Chagall
prof realized he made a mistake bc he did not praise his nephew’s brother
Examples of praise (positive vs negative impact):
Richard after basketball game
lost game by 10 points
coach was the coolest guy that prof knew
went around and told everyone good and bad
was told by coach he played great and prof was really happy
spontaneous praise
Richard called before 8th-grade class
science teacher called him to the front to tell everyone he got into a great high school with scholarship
said that her toughness on him was the reason he got in
ex. process praise with daughter
prof said when daughter had drawing, did not jump to praise her and instead asked questions
learned that daughter wanted parents to dress up in wedding clothes so she could be a flower girl
better to show interest in their behavior instead of praise
ex. tennis instructor and how praise can be bad
tennis canada made it all about rewards and praise with younger kids
this instructor took out the rewards and in two weeks kids were less stressed and happier
Lecture 15
Ex. of older brother vs prof (competition effects)
older brother and prof liked basketball
prof played organized while brother played informal
prof played in madison square garden and was not doing well
coach got him taken out again
prof stopped playing at 18
brother continued until he was 62
brother maintained intrinsic motivation
Informal sport settings provide better balance and increased enjoyment
Reeve and Deci's examination of competition's impact on intrinsic motivation
reeve’s helped coach eight year olds in soccer
rule that everyone had to play one half
made it to the finals
chipmunks won
the two girls that didn’t play cried
one was the coaches daughter
Ex. effects of competition on sportsmanship in hockey
Study on Quebec midget elite AAA hockey players on sportsmanship
the more competitive a kid is the less sportsmanship they have overtime
Refs of hockey
players and fans often targeted
people quitting over this
Lecture 16
Finnish Science Class Example of Autonomy Support
lots of autonomy given to learners
teacher there when needed
analytical thinking because of practice and simulation
time to think freely when observing
Gymnastics example of controlling teaching
coaching girls very hard for no mistakes
many negative comments/demands
girls are very stressed
control shown through tone
Lecture 17
Ex. of Modern arranged marriage Vinit and Anshu’s Wedding
Indian Americans trying to decide if they want to follow through with arranged marriages
Vinit's (American) mixed feelings about arranged marriage
never had a gf before
parents came to him after graduation and asked him to start arranged marriage
mom reviewed families who wanted to marry him
mom went to india and narrowed down to one girl
mom and him went to India to meet girl and decide in two hours if he wanted to meet her
Meeting Anshu changed his perspective positively
guy friends were not into this and confused
female friends were more into it
ex. how Harry met Sally compared to arranged marriage
how prof met his wife where he had to have courage
Ex. Sheena the art of choosing
woman had to choose if she wanted an arranged marriage
when she lived in Japan she described how she asked for green tea with sugar and waiter was surprised and did not accept this
American perspective: choice is accepted
Japanese perspective: trying to protect the unknowing to help them save face
Study of choosing
anglo-americans did the most anagrams when given the choice to do it
asian-americans did the most when their mothers asked them, then if they were given a choice, and finally when their teacher asked them
Immigrants were influenced by their choices
Ex. of non-autonomous agreement with arranged marriage
A woman accepted an arranged marriage at 19, giving up her education plans.
Initially shocked and threw tantrums but eventually accepted the arrangement.
Lecture 18
ex. dad from Cameroon afraid his sons will not inherit the values of his culture and instead inherit Montreal’s values (shows challenges parents face passing on cultural values)
ex. Prof’s parents immigrated in 60s from Eastern Europe
picture of him and his family looking like they were FOBs
compared to the Brady family tv show
parents wanted him to conform to Austrian norms
sister got sent to German school
dad wanted him to play soccer
brother and prof wanted to be all american
ex. Kelinjin Tribe Initiation RIghts
boys at 14 must be calm and still while their privates are mutilated
boy who went to UCLA was asked about this tradition and disowned it
found in hierarchical cultures more often
Lecture 19
Appalachian Mountains example of the effects of poverty
courtney a girl with an addict mother who is stuck in a cycle of poverty
Martha Example:
babysitter hired would bring daughter with them to take care of Martha’s daughter
at a young age the daughters were similar but as they aged the differences became evident
Daughter Reading example:
1500 hours of stories by five
poverty: may have gotten 20 hours
Lecture 20
Ex. Amish and materialism
lowest rates of depression in America for ethnic groups
high value on community and humility
ex. prof’s dad fought in WW2 and captured by British and learned carpentry while prisoner
went to lancaster, PA when on vacation with him
A lot of Amish there
stalk the amish as a holiday
prof saw Amish build a barn
when amish get married community builds a barn for them
Example: The film clip from "The Starlet" illustrates societal values.
show about 15 wannabe actresses
each episode where you see them perform
promise to win money and star in a tv show
one girl is more modest than the rest
disappears two years later
values around vanity were very intense
highly reviewed
selected candidates that resembled popular actresses
Example: Sneakers
combines concern about attractiveness and popularity
prof has always wanted popular sneakers
tried to get sneakers to make him look like a cool athletic guy
had to return them because they weren’t a good fit for him
Example: high heels
partner of prof have a lot of shoes
high heels are bad but are very popular
video about shoes being uncomfortable but still buying them
woman doctor using collagen filler into ball of foot to ease high heel pain
Lecture 21
Focus on smoking cessation, medication adherence, and diabetes control.
Doctor autonomy support leads to patient autonomy motivation and adherence to medical regimen.
example of keanu reeves in a movie:
doctor autonomy support
empathy and structure
let patients have intrinsic motivation
Lecture 22
For some reason i have no examples for this lecture
Why We Do What We Do
Urban zoos showcase seal acts as a form of entertainment.
Feeders drop fish for seals, who perform entertaining behaviors like clapping and waving.
Spectators enjoy the show, leading to the belief in the power of rewards for motivation.
Rewards can increase desired behaviors but may not sustain them once rewards stop. (challenge of persistance)
Experiment setup:
Subjects left alone for 8 minutes with magazines and puzzles.
Observations made on how they spent their free-choice time.
Findings:
Subjects who were rewarded monetarily were less likely to play with puzzles for fun.
Monetary rewards shifted subjects' view of puzzles from a satisfying activity to an instrumental one.
Follow-up experiment:
Took the experiment into the field by paying students for headline writing.
Results showed a similar pattern of losing interest once paid.
Story of the Jewish fable:
Tailor paid rowdies to harass him, gradually reducing the payment.
Rowdies stopped harassing when payment was reduced to a penny
symbolizes change from intrinsic to extrinsic motivation
Active use vs testing
Learning for active use leads to greater conceptual understanding
Tested two groups, one learning for active use and the other for testing
Students learning for active use displayed better conceptual understanding
Learning with the expectation of being tested leads to rote memorization
Students expecting to be tested focused on memorizing facts
They didn't process the information fully, leading to lesser grasp of concepts
Follow-up study showed that students who learned expecting to be tested forgot more
Memorized material for the test and forgot it afterwards
Referred to as a "core dump" by researchers
minimizing pressure leads to better learning
Example of a pizza franchise program for reading books
Negative impact of reward structures on motivation
Rewards can shift focus away from intrinsic interest
Pay for performance in the workforce example
Includes profit-sharing and stock options
Money as a motivator in structuring situations
Drawbacks of pay-for-performance practices
Can motivate but lead to shortcuts and undermine intrinsic motivation
Shifts focus from job to rewards, resulting in less effective problem-solving
Bulgaria Example
there were no incentives for productivity, leading to idle workers.
Workers did not see a connection between their behavior and desired outcomes.
Lack of meaningful contingencies and behavior-outcome linkages in central-planning economies.
Totalitarian systems like in Bulgaria and China lack effective motivation for workers.
Lack of behavior-outcome linkages hinders motivation.
Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are necessary for motivating behavior.
Private ownership and market forces in the American system create instrumentalities for efficiency.
Comparison between Bulgaria and America
Importance of instrumentalities
Without appropriate instrumentalities, there will not be productive, motivated behavior.
Instrumentalities can be a double-edged sword.
Control and motivation
Control can have negative effects on behavior.
Central-planning economies used control ineffectively, leading to disastrous results.
Effective use of instrumentalities
Effective parents, managers, teachers, and coaches use reward contingencies in non-controlling ways.
In U.S. companies, intrinsic motivation is emphasized over extrinsic rewards for better results.
American motivation challenges
Inner-city challenges
People in densely populated areas feel disconnected from the system due to poverty, violence, and lack of realistic expectations.
Lack of relevant instrumentalities leads to disengagement.
Individual case
Story of a young man who drifted into criminal activities due to lack of family support and role models.
Absence of effective contingencies led to a series of negative events in his life.
Interpersonal motivation
Lack of effective contingencies affects motivation at both interpersonal and systemic levels.
Example of a middle-class neighborhood highlighting the importance of effective contingencies in shaping behavior.
Jenni and unclear expectations example
Jenni's motivation to be a good girl backfired due to vague expectations.
Clear linkages between behaviors and outcomes are crucial for motivation.
Lack of clarity in expectations leads to a lack of motivation in society.
Jenni's father emphasized being a good girl without clear behavior expectations.
Jenni's breakdown occurred when she couldn't stifle her negative feelings.
Extrinsic motivation requires clarity on expected behaviors and outcomes.
Autonomy support example
Stephanie's struggle with gaining weight during treatment
She adhered to eating requirements but only reached 95 pounds
Stephanie inflated her weight by drinking water before clinic visits
Ryan's different approach to therapy
Focused on psychodynamic aspects of Stephanie's condition
Explored Stephanie's feelings of inadequacy and body image perceptions
Connection between Stephanie's vulnerability and past experiences
Abandoned by mother and controlled by overwhelmed father
Clinic's methods inadvertently reinforced negative dynamics
Helped her understand the link between inadequacy and eating disorder
Allowed Stephanie to feel less need for severe body control
Study by Richard Ryan and Wendy Grolnick at the University of Rochester
Assessed motivation of elementary-school children based on introjected vs. integrated values
Children with integrated values showed healthier coping mechanisms and enjoyed school
Children with introjected values displayed anxiety and maladaptive coping strategies
Experiment conducted with graduate students to promote integration in uninteresting tasks.
Providing a rationale, acknowledging feelings, and minimizing pressure were important factors.
Subjects showed more internalization when these behaviors were present, leading to a sense of volition and personal importance.
Many bright college students struggle to express their true feelings and beliefs due to fear of being perceived as selfish or guilty.
Introjects about societal expectations can lead to a loss of touch with one's true self.
Example of a young man, Arthur, who was discouraged from questioning and forming opinions by his rigid family.
Parents' responses led Arthur to suppress his inquisitive nature and conform to societal expectations.
Kevin Jacobs' change to work-life balance
Triggering incident with his son's school play
Realization of neglecting family for career advancement
Changes made to prioritize relationships and achieve balance
Xerox Corp and autonomy support in the workplace example
Observed operations and collected data from over a thousand employees
Autonomy-supportive managers lead to more trust, satisfaction, and morale among workers
Training managers to be autonomy supportive leads to positive work outcomes
Contrasting stories of Caroline and Victoria highlight different motivations for behavior change.
Caroline felt external pressure to lose weight, while Victoria made a personal commitment.
Easier and more fulfilling to Victoria
Study on autonomy and choice
Experiment with elementary-school students and anagrams
Students controlled by authoritarian feedback wanted less choice
Fear of evaluation and punishment influencing desire for autonomy
A dilemma faced by a mother regarding her son's teacher being unreasonable
Teacher criticized the son for making a paper flower differently
Mother had to explain to her son the importance of following the teacher's instructions
Abraham Maslow's Perspective on Duty and Pleasure
Duty is pleasant, and pleasure is the fulfillment of duty.
Duty, for Maslow, means giving what the situation asks of you freely.
Example: Feeding hungry children out of love and responsibility rather than obligation.
Jean-Paul Sartre's View on Freedom and Constraints
Freedom is accepting one's limitations.
True constraints exist in the nature of things, like inability to fly or understand nuclear physics.
Arbitrary constraints, like imposed rules, are shallow compared to real constraints.
People find freedom by accepting real constraints and some arbitrary conventions.
Comparison of Freedom in Eastern Europe and the West
In Eastern Europe under Soviet domination, people had guaranteed work and income but faced arbitrary constraints.
In the West, individuals have more freedom to pursue personal goals within the system.
People in the West can achieve goals but may feel pressured by the necessity to behave in certain ways.
Examples of lack of personal freedom:
A woman obsessed with making money and gaining influence.
A professor who is always late to meetings.
Human freedom is about being truly autonomous and not bound by inner pressures.
Example from Bulgaria of how systems impact freedom
Totalitarian regime affected psychological freedom.
Exceptional individual who studied foreign topics and became an agent of change.
Peak
Perfect Pitch Example
Example of Mozart's perfect pitch ability as a rare talent
Description of how Mozart could identify musical notes accurately
Explanation that perfect pitch is a rare ability but not as mysterious today as it was in Mozart's time
Perfect pitch is considered an innate talent possessed by few individuals
Examples of individuals with perfect pitch: Beethoven, Vladimir Horowitz, Frank Sinatra
Recent understanding of perfect pitch suggests a different perspective
Observation: People with perfect pitch received musical training in childhood
Research findings: Nearly all individuals with perfect pitch started musical training at a young age
Connection to tonal languages: Perfect pitch more common in speakers of tonal languages
Research outcome: Asian heritage does not determine likelihood of perfect pitch, tonal language exposure does
Leopold Mozart's training of Wolfgang Mozart from a very young age led to the development of perfect pitch
Remembering more digits example of deliberate practice
Study aimed to understand how individuals improve digit memory
Collaboration with Bill Chase to redo Martin and Fernberger study
Subject: Steve Faloon, a typical Carnegie Mellon undergraduate
Initially remembered an average of seven to eight digits
Steve's breakthrough in memory training on the fifth session
Training method: increasing digit string length based on performance
Steve broke through his natural memory ceiling of eight or nine digits
Steve steadily improved, reaching an impressive memory capacity of eighty-two digits
Steve's breakthrough in memory training on the fifth session
Training method: increasing digit string length based on performance
Steve broke through his natural memory ceiling of eight or nine digits
Steve steadily improved, reaching an impressive memory capacity of eighty-two digits
Steve's remarkable memory achievement of remembering eighty-two random digits
Steve's continuous improvement over two years of training sessions
Impressive memory ability demonstrated by Steve Faloon through consistent practice and dedication
Dario Example of progress
Dario committed to a memory-training study and improved quickly with Steve's method.
Dario reached twenty digits in fewer sessions than Steve.
Progress slowed down after thirty digits.
Dario developed his own method, improving his retrieval structure.
Dario's memorization process was similar to Steve's, using long-term memory.
Deliberate practice is crucial for improvement beyond pushing limits.
Dario eventually memorized over one hundred digits, surpassing Steve.
London Taxi Example
London cabbies undergo rigorous exams to become licensed.
"The Knowledge" test requires knowledge of various locations within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross.
Prospective cabbies must demonstrate efficient routes between points in London.
Those who pass the test have a deep understanding of London's geography.
Prospective cabbies spend years mastering routes and landmarks in London.
London taxi drivers accumulate a foundational set of best routes around London through extensive exploration.
They explore areas around the beginning and end of runs within a quarter mile, noting buildings and landmarks.
Eleanor Maguire's studies on London taxi drivers' brains reveal the impact of training on brain structure.
Maguire compared the brains of taxi drivers with non-taxi drivers and found larger posterior hippocampi in taxi drivers.
The size of the posterior hippocampi increased with more time spent as a taxi driver.
Musical training and brain structure example
Experiment using magnetic fields to study brain activity in musicians and nonmusicians
Musicians had larger brain region controlling left hand fingers
Brain regions controlling fingers expanded with early musical training
Effects of musical training on brain structure and function
Musicians have larger cerebellum and more gray matter in various brain regions
Musical training modifies brain structure for increased musical ability
Blindfolded grandmaster example
Alexander Alekhine, a Russian grandmaster, became interested in blindfold chess at an early age and played his first blindfold game at twelve.
Despite his interest in blindfold chess, most of Alekhine's training was devoted to regular chess.
Alekhine's interest in blindfold chess was sparked by a 1902 exhibition by the U.S. chess champion Harry Nelson Pillsbury, where Pillsbury played twenty-two games simultaneously.
Alekhine's ability to play blindfold chess was a natural outgrowth of his habit of thinking about chess positions even while in the classroom.
Over time, Alekhine developed the ability to hold the entire chessboard in his memory and play whole games without physical pieces.
Alekhine's interest in blindfold chess
Started playing multiple blindfold games at a young age
Interrupted by First World War, rekindled interest
Played blindfold games during internment and injury
Neglected blindfold chess until emigrating to Paris in 1921
Alekhine's blindfold chess records
Broke North American record with 21 games
Set world records with 28 games in 1925 and 32 games in 1933
Alekhine's perspective on blindfold chess
Viewed it as a way to bring attention to chess and himself
Developed out of his effort to master the game
Alekhine's achievements in chess
Became World Chess Champion in 1927
Held the title multiple times until 1946
Ranked among the top ten best chess players of all time
Study on grandmasters
Herb Simon and Bill Chase studied how grandmasters remember chess positions accurately
Chess experts remember patterns, not individual piece positions
Experiment on chess players' memory
Chess masters remembered about two-thirds of pieces in patterned boards
Novices and mid-range players performed worse, especially with random piece arrangements
Comparison with verbal memory
Meaningful patterns aid memory recall
Chess masters' memory is context-dependent on patterns from normal games
Development of chess skills
Spending hours studying games played by masters is crucial
Analysis of positions and predicting moves enhances skills
Importance of pattern recognition
Chess players accumulate "chunks" of patterns in long-term memory
Expertise in recognizing interactions among chess pieces
Prediction of chess player's ability
Time spent analyzing games is more critical than playing with others
About ten years of practice needed to reach grandmaster level
Study by McPherson and Renwick
Connected notes on a musical score with fingering for playing.
Observations from a few musicians in one school.
Results supported by a British study of over three thousand music students.
More accomplished students could identify mistakes and focus on difficult sections.
Advanced students had highly developed mental representations of music and performances.
Used mental representations to spot mistakes and match practice techniques.
Effectiveness of Continuing Medical Education
Research by Dave Davis and colleagues on educational interventions for doctors
Interactive components like role-play and hands-on training are more effective in improving doctors' performance and patient outcomes
Passive activities like listening to lectures have minimal impact on performance and patient outcomes
Continuing medical education can lead to small improvements in performance, with interactive components being more effective
Professional golfer at 30 example of deliberate practice
Dan McLaughlin from Portland, Oregon, decided to become a professional golfer at 30 without prior experience.
Inspired by the idea that anyone can succeed with dedication.
"the Dan Plan" aimed to challenge the notion that only certain people can excel in specific fields.
He planned to put in ten thousand hours of deliberate practice to join the PGA tour.
Karate at 69
Per Holmlöv, a Swedish man, started karate at 69 to achieve a black belt by 80.
Despite his age, he sought advice on training more effectively.
Personalized feedback from a coach is crucial for improvement in skills.
Mental representations play a significant role in guiding performance during practice.
Finding a good teacher is essential for success in deliberate practice.
A good teacher should be accomplished in the field and have experience in teaching.
Swimmer and focused practice example
swimmer Natalie Coughlin's shift towards focused practice for improvement
Maintaining close attention to every detail of performance leads to excellence
Paying attention to performing actions correctly leads to greater improvement
Self-improvement without teacher
Benjamin Franklin's approach to improving writing skills
Techniques used by Franklin to enhance writing abilities
Reproducing articles from memory
Writing poetry to expand vocabulary
Rearranging jumbled hints to improve logical structure
Franklin's journey from average writer to admired author
example of Peer support for improvement
Benjamin Franklin's mutual improvement club, "the Junto"
Encouraged intellectual pursuits among members
Shared goals and camaraderie provided extra motivation
Experiment by Hungarian psychologist László Polgár and his wife Klara
Aimed to turn their children into geniuses through proper rearing
Considered various options like languages and mathematics
Chose chess for its objectivity and strategic thinking
Importance of early start, time investment, and love for a subject
Lesson on the potential for anyone to excel with the right approach and dedication.
The Polgárs had three daughters: Susan, Sofia, and Judit
Home-schooled by László and Klara to focus on chess
Susan became a grandmaster at 15, the first woman to achieve this via the same path as men
Sofia excelled in chess, achieving a high tournament rating of 2735
Judit became the youngest grandmaster at 15 years, 5 months
Judit was the top-ranked women's chess player for 25 years and played in the World Chess Championship
Brady's journey to perfect pitch
Inspired by a paper on training technique for musicians without perfect pitch
Used a computer to generate random pure tones for practice
Initially focused on recognizing the C note to build a base for other tones
Gradually improved to identify all twelve notes without error
Tested himself with a piano, achieving close to perfect pitch
Research skepticism and Brady's achievement
Brady's accomplishment of developing perfect pitch through practice
Lack of attention to his article due to self-experimentation
Researchers' skepticism on adults developing perfect pitch
Human calculator example
Autistic savant Donny is a fast and accurate calendar calculator.
Can provide the day of the week for a date within a second.
Memorized all fourteen possible yearly calendars.
Developed techniques to calculate the day of the week for any date.
Psychologist Barnett Addis trained a graduate student to perform calendar calculations like savants.
Student matched the speed of the twins with IQ in the 60-70 range.
Method involved finding an equivalent year and adding up numbers for calculations.
Savants like Donny develop their abilities through years of obsessive study.
Possess acquired skills rather than innate talent.
Develop abilities similarly to how other experts do through practice and adaptability.
Study on Jump classes in Ontario
Evaluated in a randomized controlled trial with 29 teachers and 300 fifth-grade students.
After five months, students in Jump classes showed more than twice the progress in understanding mathematical concepts compared to others.
Progress measured by standardized tests.
Results not published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
Need for results to be replicated in other school districts for complete trust.