Make your own dragon using the pdf below: 

Moving Dragon (pdf)

http://www.grand-illusions.com/opticalillusions/dragon_illusion/ 

Inverted Face Illusion

Here's another one similar to the dragon illusion 

Visual Memory Test

Challenge Ayumu the chimpanzee

Challenge Ayumu game #2

How Accurate Are Memories of 9/11? (Scientific American magazine, 9/6/11)

An article in Scientific American looks at the accuracy of our memories for this tragic day. Psychologists have talked about "flashbulb memories" and many believe that they are accurate representations of our memories for emotional events. This article is an interview with Elizabeth A Phelps, who is the lead investigator of a study looking into the accuracy of 9-11 memories.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=911-memory-accuracy&WT.mc_id=SA_CAT_MB_20110907

"The Boy With the Incredible Brain" - Daniel Tammet (online discussion)

Online Discussion Assignment - Daniel Tammet "The Boy With the Incredible Brain"

Stephen Wiltshire - "the Human Camera"

Mr. Wiltshire is an autistic savant who has an amazing ability for visual memory and artistic skill. As seen in the video below, he has demonstrated an ability to remember what an entire city looks like and draw it in almost perfect detail from memory. Absolutely amazing.

If you find this interesting, there are a lot of other videos out there about Stephen, so feel free to search for them. If you're interested in his art, the website for his gallery is athttp://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/ . Don't worry, his original artwork seems to be quite affordable, ranging from about a mere $10,000 to $30,000. 

**"Crossing the River"**

The classic brain teaser in interactive form to practice your problem solving skills. Can you get all three munchkins and all three monsters across the river (without anyone being eaten)? 

Frog Leap Game

Click the link to try out the problem solving game we tried in class.

Brain Teasers

A site with 61 different quick brain teasers for those of you that like that problem solving kind of stuff... 

"A Science Odyssey: In Search of Ourselves"

This is a fascinating and shocking video that has relevance to psychology in many different ways. If you get a chance to watch the whole thing, I strongly recommend it. If you love psychology and history like I do, you'll totally geek out over this video. For the purposes of this unit, there is a great portion starting at around 32 minutes that examines the Army Intelligence Tests, the Eugenics movement, John B Watson and the behaviorist movement fighting against Eugenics, and the application of eugenics and intelligence testing to racism and discrimination against immigrants. 

Marshmallow Experiment replication

This is a replication of a famous experiment done in the 1960s by Walter Mischel at a preschool on the Stanford University campus. Mischel invited 4-year olds into a small room and offered them a marshmallow. They were told, however, that if they were willing to wait while he ran an errand, they could have two marshmallows on his return. Some children grabbed the single treat the minute he was out the door. Some lasted a few minutes before they gave in. Others were determined to wait. In the seemingly endless 15-to-20 minute interval, they resisted temptation in a variety of ways. They covered their eyes, they sang to themselves, they played games with their hands and feet, and some even tried to go to sleep.

The importance of how children reacted to the marshmallow challenge became clear some 12 to 14 years later. Those who resisted temptation at 4 were, as adolescents, more socially competent, personally effective, and self-assertive. They were less likely to freeze under stress and pursued challenges even in the face of difficulties. They were more self-reliant, confident, trustworthy, and dependable.

Even more remarkable was that when again evaluated as high school graduates, those who resisted were far superior students to those who acted on whim. They were better able to put their ideas into words, to use and respond to reason, and to concentrate, and they were more eager to learn. They also had dramatically higher scores on their SAT tests. The one-third of children who at 4 grabbed for the marshmallow most eagerly had an average verbal score of 524 and quantitative score of 528. The one-third who waited the longest had average scores of 610 and 652, respectively, a total score that was 210 points higher than the scores of those without self-control. Mischel suggested that the "goal-directed self-imposed delay of gratification" is the essence of emotional self-regualtion. It represents the ability to deny impulse in the service of a goal, whether in the building of a business, solving an algebraic equation, or pursuing the Stanley Cup.

My question for you is... in the "instant gratification" society that we seem to be living in, what implications might this have for your generation? 

(here are more reproductions of the experiment... hilarious, by the way...) 

(and just for fun... here's a hilarious parody of the marshmallow experiment... using adults!...)