"60 Minutes" Segment on Eye-Witness Testimony

Below you will find the video clips from the March 8, 2009 "60 Minutes" episode on eye-witness testimony. For more information go to http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml




Watch CBS Videos Online
To view the above video on the "60 Minutes" website go to http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4852659n



Watch CBS Videos Online
To view the above video on the "60 Minutes" website go to http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4852677n

Please see the below blog posting for more information on the "60 Minutes" segments.

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60 Minutes Memory Episode

Sunday's "60 Minutes" had a double-length segment on the problems with eyewitness identification. As I watched it I looked for some other information online so I thought I would share with you all.

60 Minutes -- didn't see it or tape it? Never mind, it's online. (I'm guessing it's only going to be available for a limited time online, though.) See the videos and read the transcript, plus see a short online exclusive video with Elizabeth Loftus on creating a false memory ("the Bunny Effect"). http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/06/60minutes/main4848039.shtml

Picking Cotton -- the book by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton has its own web site and it's awesome, especially the Case File section where you get to see all of the evidence.
http://www.pickingcottonbook.com/

The Innocence Project -- the project started in 1992 to use DNA evidence to help free wrongly convicted people. http://www.innocenceproject.org/

The eyewitness test shown on "60 Minutes" created by Iowa State's Gary Wells.
http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/FACULTY/gwells/theeyewitnesstest.html

The rest of Dr. Wells' page is complete sensory overload but also
chock-full of links: http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/FACULTY/gwells/

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Psych in the news

Holy cow! I was busy with classes this week and wow, did the news pile up! There's plenty for two entries, so for now we'll start with these links:

A case of fugue in New York City. (NY Times) Some skepticism here. (New York Magazine)

Portrayals of amnesia in popular movies. (Science Blogs)

Do forward-facing strollers affect babies' development? (NYT)

Night shift makes metabolism go haywire. (Wired)

The role of the brain in sexual interest. (Science Daily)

TV viewing among tiny tots? Not bad for them but not good either. (NYT)

Beethoven vs. Lil Wayne? One guy compares the musical tastes of college kids with their SAT scores. (Digits/WSJ)

Are kids with ADHD really just sleep deprived? (Science Daily)

How the social skills of babies help make others want to care for them. (NYT)

Psychologists vs. economists: should you reward students for academic performance? (NYT)

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More on National Sleep Awareness Week

My class began the unit on states of consciousness and I rediscovered some key links that I share and use with them.

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/

Shakespeare Quotes on Sleep http://shakespeare.about.com/cs/criticismmisc/a/sleep.htm

Sleep quotes—http://www.quotegarden.com/sleep.html · Circadian, infradian, and ultradian rhythms

Neuroscience for Kids site about sleep

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/sleep.html

Signs of Sleep Disorders

Videos about narcolepsy and cataplexy
http://www-med.stanford.edu/school/Psychiatry/narcolepsy/

Cataplexy definition

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10470

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AP Psychology: One Year or One Semester?

"Should an Advanced Placement Psychology be a one semester or yearlong course? Since the inception of the AP Psychology Exam in 1992, that question has been vigorously debated.

Please complete the survey below. While I am very aware many schools across the country are using other scheduling models, I am hesitant to put too many options on this survey. With enough data in the comments section, I can redesign the survey for the future.

The survey results will be revealed once you cast your vote.

Online Surveys & Market Research

N = 531 as of 01/27/12
If your school is on a schedule outside of the "traditional" quarter/semester program, such as trimester, block, modified block, etc., please leave your structure in the comments section below. This will provide us valuable information for future surveys.

Please feel free to include you opinions in the debate of yearlong versus semester in the comments section as well.

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The Whitman Journal of Psychology

It is my honor and privilege to post the following note from the editors of The Whitman Journal of Psychology; the only psychological journal devoted to high school students. I would strongly recommend every psychology teacher encourage your students to make a submission for publication. To see the latest issue (Fall, 2008), click on the cover to the right.

"The Whitman Journal of Psychology is a non-profit, student-run publication. We collect submissions from high school students around the country and publish the most intriguing and well written submissions that we receive. We consider every submission and are always looking for new articles, so we encourage students to submit their work. For more information on submissions or the Journal in general, visit our website at www.whitmanpsych.com or email us at whitmanpsych@gmail.com."

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TV Alert - Elizabeth Loftus on 60 Minutes

Set your VCRs, DVRs or computers for the March 8th showing of "60 Minutes".

In her keynote address at the Midwest Institute for Students and Teachers of Psychology (MISTOP) last Friday, Elizabeth Loftus detailed how this Sunday's show will contain a segment on memory and eye witness testimony. From her description it sounds to be very interesting.

The 60 Minutes website describes the segment as "Lesley Stahl reports on flaws in eyewitness testimony that are at the heart of the DNA exonerations of falsely convicted people like Ronald Cotton, who has forgiven his accuser, Jennifer Thompson. (This is a double-length segment.)"

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Careers in Psychology

In the Winter 2008 (Volume:12, Issue: 2) edition of "Eye on Psi-Chi", the quarterly newsletter of the National Honor Society in Psychology, Debra Park of West Deptford High School (NJ) and Amy Fineburg of Spain Park High School (AL) wrote an article, Teaching High School Psychology as a Career Pathway.

Debra and Amy provide excellent advise for anyone interested in pursuing a career teaching high school psychology. The full article can be found at http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_664.asp


For additional information on careers in psychology, please refer to the APA's booklet, Psychology: Careers for the Twenty-First Century. This web-based resource provides detailed information on a number of career options for someone majoring in psychology.

While written more to a college student, this is an ideal reference for any high school student interested in going into psychology.

The booklet can be found on the APA's website at http://www.apa.org/topics/psychologycareer.html

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Neuroscience for Kids

With Brain Awareness Week coming up, I'd like to give a public appreciation comment to Eric Chudler of University of Washington in Seattle. His creation of and continued maintenance of "Neuroscience for Kids" has been a bastion of wonderfulness for high school (and I'm sure other) psychology teachers. To access his site, check out: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html

At the bottom of the linked page, you can sign up for the monthly newsletter.
The NFK team is at: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/whowe.html

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Psych in the news

Beauty affects men's and women's brains differently. (Wired)

Researchers in Montreal report that people who were abused or neglected as children showed genetic alterations that likely made them more biologically sensitive to stress. (NY Times)

A study published this month in the journal Pediatrics studied the links between recess and classroom behavior among about 11,000 children age 8 and 9. Those who had more than 15 minutes of recess a day showed better behavior in class than those who had little or none. (NYT)

Low levels of Vitamin D may be associted with an increased risk for dementia. (NYT)

Finally some good news for your slackers: "People may doodle as a strategy to help themselves concentrate," says a researcher in a new study. (Wired)

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