One test of the Pavlovian conditioning model of tolerance is whether conditional drug compensatory responses are engaged by predrug cues. In one experiment with rats, injections of alcohol in the context of one set of stimuli were alternated with injections of saline solution with a different set of stimuli for several days. Each day, the rats' body temperatures were measured. Alcohol lowered body temperatures the first time it was given, but this effect diminished over the course of the repeated alcohol administration. that is, tolerance developed to the "hypothermic" effect of alcohol. To determine if a drug compensatory CR was engaged by the usual predrug cues, the rats were given a placebo. In a placebo test, saline solution is used instead of the drug. The placebo CR test was given to some rats under conditions where they were expecting alcohol; that is, saline was administered with the usual predrug cues. For the remaining rats, the placebo CR test was given under conditions where there should have been no expectancy of alcohol. Rats given saline with the usual predrug cues had elevated body temperatures, while rats given saline without the usual predrug cues showed little temperature change. Thus, it was possible to directly observe the drug compensatory CR, in simple terms, going through your pre party (drinking) rituals literally makes you hotter in anticipation (of alcohol ;).
http://www.uvm.edu/~biopsych/outline/DrugsOutline.htm
feli0052: October 2011 Archives
Inattentional blindness is simply the term for the fact that are minds are bad at detecting obvious and often important stimuli when our attention is focused elsewhere.
I'll be the first to say, like most people, I am totally guilty of inattentional blindness. I used to just think I was bad with names but knowing this makes me think otherwise. The situation that would often happen to me is upon meeting or being introduced to someone, the moments before and threw the first "hello's and introductions" I would be so focused on what I was going to say, the handshake or hug, that I would completely miss the individuals name. It's really frustrating because you don't want to be rude and ask again so you end up speaking for a while or listening to try to pick it out of the conversation.
The Bandwagon Fallacy is defined in the book as "the error of assuming that a claim is correct just because people believe it. It is an error because popular opinion isn't a dependable guide to the accuracy of an assertion." I chose to elaborate my feelings on this matter because I thought it was interesting and the book only gave one short paragraph in explanation.
During the 5th the world's population thought that the world was flat. In 1500AD we still believed that the earth revolved around that sun. Up until 1865 African Americans were thought of a property that could be bought and sold and it wasn't until 1920 that women were thought competent enough to vote. These are some of the greatest misjudgments is human history and the Bandwagon Fallacy had a major part in fueling their flame.
It's not enough to just make the assumption that an idea is correct just because a large number of people believe it to be. Consider this, Roughly ninety percent of all Americans that vote vote along the same party lines as their parents, while this might not be totally Bandwagon related, growing up in a family would imprint you with similar beliefs, I still believe it has a bearing here. That is that a Bandwagon idea doesn't need an extraordinarily large crowd to spread. I think that its influence as opposed to its relative size just needs to be strong enough.
We as individuals need to be more careful now than ever. With the growing population and ease of transferring ideas over the internet we are still very susceptible to negative bandwagons. We need to use critical thinking to make sure we realize that Muslim doesn't equal tourism and that Justin Bieber's hair definitely doesn't make him talented!
