How important is the touch of a mother?

What do you think is more important for healthy development of an infant? The warm love of a mother or the satisfaction of physiological needs?

In the 1950s, Harry Harlow conducted experiments to see what would happen if baby monkeys had a choice of a warm mother or a mother that only gave them food, but no comfort. These "mothers" were made of wire. One had a bottle that dispensed milk, and the other had a warm blanket wraps around it with space for the monkey to cuddle in. When placed in a room with these two mothers, the monkey spent most of the time with the warm mother and would only quickly run over to the other for milk and then immediately return back to the blanketed one. These monkeys group up to be emotionally stable.

Harlow took this experiment to another level. He took different monkeys and put one in a room to live with the warm mother and one to live with the mother that only provided food.

"When he separated the infants into two groups and gave them no choice between the two types of mothers, all the monkeys drank equal amounts and grew physically at the same rate. But the similarities ended there. Monkeys who had soft, tactile contact with their terry cloth mothers behaved quite differently than monkeys whose mothers were made out of cold, hard wire. Harlow hypothesized that members of the first group benefited from a psychological resource—emotional attachment—unavailable to members of the second. By providing reassurance and security to infants, cuddling kept normal development on track (Harlow, 1959).

The ones that were secluded from the warm "mother" were never able to socialize, once they were adults, with other monkeys. They were very aggressive and weren't able to lead a normal life. This experiment helped to show that infants psychological needs are important to satisfy, rather than just the physiological needs. This experiment also showed the importance of mother/infant attachment and bonding.

Harlow, H.F. (1959) "Love in Infant Monkeys."

Images from http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~adoption/studies/HarlowMLE.htm



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Finally a decision on the cellphone debate

I have finally caved into the purchase of a smartphone. I had the opportunity to buy one for only 29 dollars and jumped at the chance. A Nokia E62. I still have it charging and will give all my comments as soon as I learn how to use it.

Anyone still using internet explorer on a regular basis?

Please please please switch over to Mozilla Firefox. Mozilla has a pop up blocker in it and is much more use friendly. You will get less spyware and viruses on your computer and it's completely free. You just download and install it (I have a link for it on the right side of the blog; it says Firefox) and it will import all the bookmarks you have set in your explorer. I can't stress enough of how important the switch over is. I can't even count the number of times that I've had to reformat computers that solely use IE.

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Pay per Post

So after investigating the blog scene, I have learned that bloggers can make money for their posts. PayPerPost.com allows approved bloggers to pick through topics to write about and get paid. I just opened the account two days ago and got approved this morning. I can't wait to blog and roll in some dough :) So far I have seen opportunities for up to 175 dollars, but I'm sure there are more. I'm still new to the blogging world, but I am learning fast. The site has so far proven to be user friendly. You also have the opportunity to meet other bloggers, which I have yet to explore. Keep blogging and reading! :)
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Obedience Experiment and Its Application

Social psychologists experiment and research human behavior. In 1961, after the trial of Adolph Eichmann, a high ranking Nazi Colonel, a question arose of whether Eichmann and his accomplices were just following orders. In other words, how far would someone go just because they were told to do so. Some may think that the stakes at hand may play a part in this decision, but social psychologist, Stanly Milgram, devised an experiment that showed that perhaps the consequences of not following the order were not very strong in their effects on how far a person would go.

The participants for the study were recruited through advertisements and the experiment was conducted in two basement rooms at Yale. The advertisement said that the participants would be paid whether or not they completed the study. The were told that the experiment was on the effects of punishment on learning.

In the basement, there was an "experimenter," a man in a lab coat, who showed no emotion, another "participant," who not really a participant, but rather a confederate, who was later made to be a "learner." This left the actual participant. The real participant was named a "teacher." (Follow with me. It'll come together any minute now...)

The "teacher" was asked by the experimenter to read off word pairs to the "learner." After reading the list, the "teacher" was instructed to read the first word to see if the "learner" could respond with the second word from that pair. I forgot to add the most important part of this experiment. The "learner" was attached to an electro-shock generator, which the "teacher" was under the impression was fully working (which it wasn't, because you can't actually administer the shock, right? keep reading :) )
If the "learner" made an incorrect response, the "teacher" was told to administer shock. They were also told to increase the voltage with every incorrect answer.

"After a number of voltage level increases, the (learner) started to bang on the wall that separated him from the (participant). After several times banging on the wall and complaining about his heart condition, all responses by the learner cease(d). (Milgram, 1963)"

The "teacher" became uncomfortable, but after the experimenter instructed him to continue, he continued. If the "teacher" would not continue after being instructed to do so, then the experiment was over. Otherwise, the experiment continued up to a "450 volt shock."

"In Milgram's first set of experiments, 65% (26 out of 40)of experimental participants administered the experiment's final 450-volt shock, though many were quite uncomfortable in doing so; everyone paused at some point and questioned the experiment, some even saying they would return the check for the money they were paid. No participant steadfastly refused to give further shocks before the 300-volt level. (Milgram, 1963)"


Information from Wikipedia and following source:
Milgram, Stanley (1963). "Behavioral Study of Obedience". Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 67: 371–378.

Click here for the full text of the scholarly article

Click here to read the account of one of the actual participants

Wing It - New Flavors out in stores

The three new flavors of Wing It are finally out on supermarket shelves. Sweet and Tangy, my personal favorite, Honey BBQ, and Teriyaki are available all around the country. You can find a list of all the stores and if by small chance, you don't have a store near you, give it a try by ordering direct on their website. The buffalo style is for the people who like it hot. (If you're really an addict, you can order Wing It by the gallon.

Get money back on your normal online shopping..

I guess they are able to do this as advertisement, but Ebates gives you a percentage back on your online shopping just for you going to their site and clicking on the store you want to shop with from their list. They have a really comprehensive list on their site and I've done most of my shopping through them. Once they didn't have the store I wanted, but I suggested the store to them, and it was up there within a couple weeks. They also have coupon codes that you can use at the stores. CNN says and I agree, "It's a no brainer." In the past couple months I've made $48.64 back from my shopping. They give 1% -10% back on your shopping and then mail you a check every three months. This has proven to be reliable and I've already received a check in the mail.

click here to sign up and look around

Mass Health Insurance Mandate

So, we here in Massachusetts will now be required to have health insurance. If we can't afford it, we'll be given it. Over all, I think this is a good idea and it will save Massachusetts a lot of money. In March of 2006, there were 500,000 residents of Massachusetts that were uninsured. No these people are not made of steel.. of course they get sick like we all do sometimes, but when they get sick, they choose to go to emergency rooms rather than to a primary care doctor. The hospitals are left with unpaid bills and find it harder to cover their expenses for these visits. This lessens the value of care care that an insured resident may receive when they go to the hospital. Anyways, enough about the past. In with the new:

July 2007, individuals who are deemed to be able to afford it, will be required to have health insurance. If they don't they risk losing their deductions around tax time for the year of 2007. If you still don't have insurance by 2008, then you may be charged half of the lowest premium available, but without receiving the insurance.

To be considered in need of government assistance:
Mass Health/Subsidized Care : Income must be at $60,000 or less for a family of four., with no premiums being paid if the income is $20,000 or less for a family of four.

Small Businesses are also now required to provide insurance to their employee if they have 11+ employees.

So, why is this so great?
Well, because everyone is now required to have and/or provide insurance, they can't charge those ridiculous prices anymore. Individual premiums have been cut by 25%, there will be new programs for adults ages 19-26 that provide cheaper coverage. What else is that all this money will be put into community programs.

What do you think about it all?

For more information or to see the source click here

Cell phone prices

Ok. So I think I've learned that I should just type whatever is on my mind and go on and on. So here is my rant about cell phone prices:

How much does it really cost to make a cell phone (Cingular 8525 PDA Phone (at&t/Cingular)), even a really snazzy one. I would guess that at most it would be around 10 dollars a piece. They are made in bulk and all the parts are ordered in bulk, so 10 dollars may even be too high of a cost. But, let's assume for now that this is a reasonable cost. Why the heck are they telling me that the cell phone I want is going to cost me over 500 dollars. Come on, it's a small pile of metal and plastic. So...I can spend over 500 dollars for the phone or I can wait till January and renew my contract and pay 100 or less for the same phone. Seems too crazy not to wait 'til January, but I really want the phone now. Check out my wishlist to see the phone. Maybe someone can convince me that it's a bad phone so that I won't be in so much agony about it....

Sorry... Just trying out different things. I promise this will get interesting soon...

What is this all?

I've been looking around the internet, trying to learn about what blogs are really for. I haven't gotten anywhere on my quest for the answer, so I thought I should just start one to see what all the fuss is about. Check in again for more. This isn't doing it for me so far. :)