Provisional Yearmarks

Provisional Yearmarks for Mind, Brain and Behaviour, including class marks (participation, attendance, preparation, thought papers), are published below:

Stud No	Essay 1	Essay 2	Classmark	Yearmark
310401	65	70	4	69
362597	75	68	4	72
382987	60	60	3	60
384021	85	72	5	81
389295	67	58	3	62
475535	78	70	4	75
0506397H	78	65	4	72

Michael P's Consultation Times

Michael Pitman's exam consultation times from 26 Oct to 6 Nov are as follows:

Fri 26 Oct 10h00 to 11h30
Mon 29 Oct 10h30 to 12h30
Tues 30 Oct 14h00 to 15h30
Wed 31 Oct 09h00 to 11h30
Thurs 1 Nov 12h00 to 13h30
Fri 2 Nov Not available
Monday 5 Nov 9h30 to 12h00

ALL other times by appointment only.

Reading 1 - Extended Mind (Seminar 13)

The first reading for Seminar 13 on the extended mind is Clark & Chalmers (1998), and can be accessed via the link below:
http://0-analysis.oxfordjournals.org.innopac.wits.ac.za/content/58/1/7.full.pdf+html

The second reading for the seminar will be handed out in class on Tuesday.

Thought paper for 9th

Briefly explain why it is according to Deacon, that the cognitive shortcomings of human children might make it easier for them to cross the symbolic threshold.

Readings for Seminar 10

In Seminar 10 (on 9 October), we begin our final section of the course on Mind, Language and Society.

The readings for Seminar 10 include Chapter 3 of Deacon (1997) - reading to be provided in class - as well as Deacon (2011) that can be accessed over the internet at:
http://anthropology.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/43.pdf

Essay Consultation

I am in from 11-12 today if you still want essay feedback

Mike

Mike G's Consultation

I will be available from 10am.

I am marking
Leishka
Misha
Sandile
and JGR

Thought paper for week 8.

What is the colour phi phenomenon and what does Dennet think it tells us about consciousness?

Thought Paper Topic for Seminar 7 on 11 Sep 2012

The thought paper topic for Seminar 7 is as follows:

What is the example of colour supposed to teach us about the embodied nature of mind?

Readings for Seminar 7 on 11 September 2012

The readings for Seminar 7 on 11 September are now available from the Main Office (U211).

There are three readings: Varela, Thompson & Rosch (1993), Lakoff & Johnson (1999), and Clark (1997).

As the readings are quite lengthy, I would strongly advise you to collect them as soon as possible.

In the Varela, Thompson & Rosch reading, you can (if necessary) ignore the section called ‘Self-organization Revisited (pp151-157) (although it should make some more sense to you after you have read the Clark (1997) reading); and you can also ignore the section on Heideggerian Psychoanalysis (pp179-180).

Thought Paper for Seminar 5

The thought paper topic for Seminar 5 on Tuesday 21 Aug is:

What, according to Damasio, does it mean to have the feeling of an emotion? In what sense is this account an embodied account of emotion and feeling?

Further reading - EP

As mentioned in class, some of the EP authors we have been reading are very generous in what they make available over the Internet. For your interest (and in case you are thinking of writing your first paper in this area), here are useful links in this regard:

Cosmides & Tooby:
http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/publist.htm

Buss:
http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/busslab/publications.htm

Thought Paper Topic for Seminar 4

The thought paper topic for Seminar 4 on Tuesday 14 Aug is:

Are Cosmides and Tooby right in thinking that our (superior) performance on cheater-detection tasks is best explained by a specialised cheater-detection module? Or might our performance instead be some kind of artifact based on a distinctive logic or structure in these tasks?

Readings - Seminar 6 on Tuesday 28 Aug

The prescribed reading for Seminar 6 (focussing on Damasio's Somatic Marker Hypothesis) is:

Damasio (1994) Chapters 8, 9 and 10.

Dunn et al. (2006), which should be accessible via following the link below:
http://0-www.sciencedirect.com.innopac.wits.ac.za/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6T0J-4H6GPP0-1-5&_cdi=4864&_user=1378557&_pii=S0149763405001053&_origin=browse&_zone=rslt_list_item&_coverDate=12/31/2006&_sk=999699997&wchp=dGLzVtz-zSkWb&md5=b892176060ba59532e8e65e8c0b9d1a7&ie=/sdarticle.pdf

Readings - Seminar 5 on Tuesday 21 Aug

In Seminar 5, we begin our second main section of the course, on the Embodied Mind. We will spend Seminars 5 and 6 focussing on the work of Antonio Damasio, in his 1994 book Descartes' Error (see previous posts on prescribed texts).

The prescribed reading for Seminar 5 is Damasio (1994) Chapters 3, 5, 6 and 7.

Recommended reading would be to read all of Part I of the book (Chapters 1-4), as well as the chapter on emotions and feelings from Damasio (1999) The Feeling of What Happens (copies available in the Main Office from lunchtime on Wednesday 8 August).

Readings - Seminar 4 on Tuesday 14 August

The readings for our last seminar on Evolutionary Psychology are as follows:

Cosmides et al. (2010). Adaptive specializations, social exchange, and the evolution of human intelligence.

Available at:
http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/papers/PNASCosmidesBarrettTooby2010_wSI.pdf

Cosmides et al (2005). Detecting cheaters.

Available at:
http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/papers/Detect_cheat.pdf

Buller (2005) - Chapter 4.

(Reminder: it was recommended that, at some point in this part of the course, you should read Buller (2005) Chapter 3)

Thought paper. Week 3

How plausible is the claim that human females prefer well resourced mates?

Readings - Seminar 3 on 7 August

In Seminar 3, we will be examining sex and evolved sexual strategies from the point of view of Evolutionary Psychology (EP).

The four readings for Seminar 3 is as follows:

1. Buss (2002) - 'Human Mating Strategies'. The article can be accessed by following the link below:

http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/busslab/pdffiles/Human%20Mating%20Strategies.pdf

2. Buller (2005) Chapter 5

3. Fausto-Sterling (2000) 'Beyond Difference' - reading will be provided in class.

4. Schmitt et al. (2001) 'The Effects of Sex and Temporal Context on Feelings of Romantic Desire'. This article can be accessed via the eJournal portal by following the link below:

http://0-psp.sagepub.com.innopac.wits.ac.za/content/27/7/833.full.pdf+html

Thought Paper Topic: Seminar 2

The topic for the first thought paper is as follows:

Briefly explain what Cosmides and Tooby (1997, p78) mean when they claim that "human circuits were not designed to solve any kind of problem[; t]hey were designed to solve adaptive problems."


A thought paper should be a brief, focussed one to two page response to the question or topic posed each week. It should preferably be typed, and will be collected at the start of the relevant seminar.

Handing in thought papers, and the quality of the thought papers, contributes towards the 5% portion of your overall mark relating to thought papers, preparation and participation.

Readings - Seminar 2 on Tuesday 31 July

Our second seminar on 31 July will be the first of three to focus on Evolutionary Psychology (EP).

The reading for Seminar 2 is as follows:

1. Cosmides & Tooby (1997) - The Multi-Modular Nature of Human Intelligence
You should read up to the section heading 'Reasoning Instincts: An Example' (bottom of p.93)

A PDF of this reading can be accessed at the following address:
http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/papers/Multimod.pdf

2. The Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2 from Buller (2005) Adapting Minds.

It is recommended that you read Chapter 3 from Buller (2005) at some point during the EP part of the course. (Given that there is no seminar on 24 July, this seems an appropriate point in the course...)

ICP 2012: 23-27 July

Both Mike and Michael will be attending the ICP 2012 in Cape Town next week (23-27 July), so there will be no MBB seminar on Tuesday 24 July.

Second Prescribed Textbook - Damasio (1994)

The second prescribed textbook for MBB in 2012 is:

Damasio, A.R. (1994). Descartes' Error. London: Vintage.

Any edition/ printing of the book will do. Some copies of the Vintage edition are available from the campus bookshop in The Matrix for R145. It is also available from Takealot.com for R141 (http://www.takealot.com/books/psychology-self-help/descartes-error-paperback,1601118). The American edition published by Penguin is available from Takealot.com for R142 (http://www.takealot.com/books/sciences/descartes-error-paperback,1266294). Copies available through the second hand market are also fine.

There are also digital versions of the text available. The Kindle edition from Amazon (which can be read on a Kindle, or any device running the free Kindle App, including PCs, iPads, iPhones, Android phones and tablets, Blackberries, Macs, etc.)  costs $11.99 (approx. R102; http://www.amazon.com/Descartes-Error-ebook/dp/B0031RS9I4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341231234&sr=1-1&keywords=descartes+error). The e-pub/Adobe Digital Editions version is available from Exclusive Books online (www.exclus1ves.co.za) for R127 (http://www.exclus1ves.co.za/ebooks/search/?q=descartes+error) and from Kalahari for R113 (http://www.kalahari.com/digitaldownloads/Descartes-Error/75579/33211753.aspx).

Students must have access to this text in time to prepare for Seminar 5 on 28 August.

Preparatory Questions for Seminar 1

While completing the readings for Seminar 1 (see previous post), it would be helpful to think about the following questions:

What is Psychology?


What is/are the object/s of study in Psychology?


Is Psychology a science? Should it be?

(In future seminars, you will need to hand in a short thought paper based on the readings for that week. For Seminar 1, it will be sufficient that you think about these questions, especially in relation to the readings, and jot down some thoughts on these matters for yourself.)

Readings for Seminar 1 - 17 July 2012

The prescribed readings for Seminar 1 on Tuesday 17 July are as follows:

Chapter 1 (Introduction) from Hergenhahn (1996) - copies available from the Main Office (U211)


Miresco, M.J. & Kirmayer, L.J. (2006). The Persistence of Mind-Brain Dualism in Psychiatric Reasoning About Clinical Scenarios. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 913-918.

This reading should be available via the following link:
http://0-ajp.psychiatryonline.org.innopac.wits.ac.za/data/Journals/AJP/3766/06AJ0913.PDF

(Unless you are on the Wits network, this link should take you via the Library login page, for which you will require your Library PIN. If you have any difficulty obtaining the article via this link, please search for the article via the Library eJournal Portal, using the reference provided above.)

Nalini, A. (2011). The mind in the world: culture and the brain. Observer, 24 (May/June).

This reading can be accessed via the following link:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1CW4LT2aWMtVVp3M2hoNWo5clk

Additional Recommended Reading: Chapter 18 (Contemporary Psychology) from Hergenhahn (1996).

Correction to Timetable

Please note that the Honours Timetable published at the beginning of the year is incorrect. Our Mind, Brain and Behaviour (MBB) seminars are 2 1/2 hours each week, and will need to run on Tuesdays between 13h30 and 16h00. Subject to confirmation, the venue should still be U224.

Prescribed Textbook

The first prescribed textbook for MBB that you will need access to is:

Buller, D.J. (2005). Adapting Minds: Evolutionary Psychology and the Persistent Quest for Human Nature. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

For ease of access, as well as price, it is highly recommended that you purchase the Kindle edition from Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Adapting-Minds-Evolutionary-Psychology-ebook/dp/B002QXMFLG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341233548&sr=1-1&keywords=adapting+minds). It costs $16.37 (approx. R140) and can be downloaded instantly. You won't need a Kindle to read a Kindle edition - the Kindle App is available free for PCs, iPads/iPhones, Android tablets and Phones, Macs, Blackberry, etc.

You can order hard copies from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Kalahari (for R216, see http://www.kalahari.com/books/Adapting-Minds/632/29041439.aspx), or through Takealot.com (for R289, see http://www.takealot.com/imports/moreusa/adapting-minds-evolutionary-psychology-and-the-persistent-quest,0262524600); but it is not guaranteed that your book will arrive in time for the start of term.

There are two copies available in the Library, one on Short Loan ( http://innopac.wits.ac.za/search/?searchtype=t&SORT=D&searcharg=adapting+minds ).

Welcome & Overview

Welcome to the Mind, Brain & Behaviour 2012 website.

This module explores a range of contemporary theories and debates at the intersection between psychology, philosophy and interdisciplinary neuroscience, within the broader context of exploring and debating the nature of the mind-brain relationship, and the future of a more neuroscientific psychology. Topics of interest have typically included various contemporary perspectives on consciousness, reasoning, emotion, pathology, embodiment, language, and evolution. The continued contribution of psychology to our understanding of the mind-brain is critically interrogated.


This module sets out to integrate a more theoretical and philosophical interest in the mind and brain with a grounding in contemporary interdisciplinary neuroscience. Theorists from a range of disciplines and backgrounds are increasingly putting forward 'grand theories' to account for the nature and evolution of consciousness, emotion, language, and other human features and capacities. Such theories and their underlying claims about the nature of the mind, the mind-brain complex, human evolution, and human development, all make for fascinating and challenging targets of exploration and critique. This module is important and highly relevant in a context where psychology is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary and integrated with other brain sciences.

The module is especially recommended for those with an interest in cognition, consciousness, language, neuropsychology, neuroscience, evolution and evolutionary psychology, and theoretical and philosophical issues in psychology.

The course will be taught in Term 2 of 2012.

Further details about the content of the course in 2012 will be forthcoming in later posts.

Please feel free to email Michael Pitman and Michael Greyling if you have any further questions about the course (subject to leave and availability over the July Winter Vacation period).