Animal Colonies
A variety of animals are housed in our laboratories (see Animal Care Links). The Norway rat is a major source of information for psychologists, and we maintain a large colony of these. Presently we have two strains in our laboratory, Long-Evans hooded rats and Wistar albino rats. Aquatic animals such as fish and crustaceans are also housed in the department. In addition, we maintain a colony of honey bees at another location. The availability of several types of animals presents a wide range of choices for our students who are interested in conducting research on animal behavior.

EXHIBIT E Rooms 211-229: RESEARCH DEMONSTRATIONS...

Left Wing
Room 211: Rat Models in the Study of Psychological Processes
An operant chamber with a rat bar-pressing for food reinforcement is presented to illustrate a form of learning called operant conditioning which was develped by B. F. Skinner, one the most influential psychologists of the past fifty years. Also, passive avoidance chambers for studying aversively controlled habits are housed in this room. Click here for a history of learning paradigms. Click here for histories of various important psychologists. Here's a discussion of short term memory and a solid review of learning phenomena.

Room 212: Morris Water Maze.
The Morris Water Maze is an apparatus used to test animal learning and memory of spatial information. In this task the animals is required to locate a submerged platform, and the time required to do so is recorded. We are currently investigating male/female differences in spatial abilities.

Room 213: Chick Colony
This is our housing room for chicks, a somewhat nontypical animal to be found in a psychology laboratory. Since they vocalize aloud, they make an excellent model for studying the social determinants and brain mechanisms involved in vocalizations.
Some of the animals in this room are involved in a study of testosterone effects on vocalization and aggression. If you listen closely you might hear them crow like adult roosters.

Room 215: Chick Behavioral Testing
Chicks in a research study are brought into this room for observation. Some of the animals are being tested alone, where we are recording the number and types of vocalizations they emit. Some of them are being tested in groups where we can measure their aggressive interactions as well as their vocalizations.

Room 216: Brain Electrical Activity

This room contains a PC-based system which enables researchers to measure brain electrical activity in humans. The electroencephalogram (EEG) can be used to study attentional processes as well as investigate the electrical events underlying various states of consciousness.

Room 218: Neurohistology
In this room, brains are being sliced in very thin sections on a vibratome. They are then mounted onto slides, stained in various ways to visualize the neurons, then examined under the microscope. See if you can see some of the neurons.

Right Wing
Rooms 221 & 223: Piagetian Testing of Preschool and Kindergarten-Age Children
Jean Piaget believed that children's thinking undergoes qualitative changes (changes in kind rather than amount). One of the major changes in thinking comes around the ages of 6-7, when children enter the concrete operation period of development. In this period they begin to understand and to be able to use operations (such as addition) to solve problems. One example of an operation is conservation. Preschool children, who are still in the preoperational period of developments, believe that when you spread out a row of things you have more things. They cannot conserve quantity/ Listen to preschoolers' and kindergarten children's answers to probing questions. You'll be surprised by what you hear.

Room 224: Auditory Illusions
Speech perception often involves the integration of both auditory and visual information. Both Types of information facilitate the interpretation of speech signals which are typically variable and ambiguous. The interaction of sight and sound will be demonstrated by an illusion known as the McGurk Effect. Click HERE to explore the dynamics auditory perception

Room 228: The Stroop Effect
In this demonstration, the test material consists of a series of words which are color names. Each color name is printed in a color different from that denoted by the name. When one is asked to say the color the word is printed in, we find it very difficult to suppress saying the color name the word stands for. This shows that having to suppress a habitual response (e.g., reading a word) is difficult. It also illustrates that we process the meaning of information very readily.

Room 229: Visual Illusions
Visual effects due to retinal mechanisms are examined in this exhibit. Here we demonstrate how the study of auto-kinetic movement, afterimages and the waterfall illusion help us understand perceptual mechanisms that underlay MOVIES, TV as well as explain confusing experiences such as UFO sightings.

EXHIBITS F1 & F2 Rooms 109 and 127: PERCEPTUAL TESTING...
These rooms contain several projects designed to permit you to test your sensory or motor capabilities. Student guides will help you participate in whatever projects you select.

Depth Perception
Using the Howard-Dolman apparatus, you can measure your accuracy of depth perception and determine the relative importance of binocular versus monocular vision.
Mirror Drawing
Here you can test yourself for sensory-motor learning. How long do you take to accomplish this task without making any errors?
Maze Training
Trace the maze while blindfolded to measure motor learning without visual cues.
Weight Detection
Can you tell which of two objects is heavier? Use the set of Weber weights to determine your ability to detect weight differences.

EXHIBIT G Room 3: PERSONALITY TESTING...
Psychologists have been developing mental tests for over a century. Some of the techniques employed to assess personality will be viewed in this exhibit. Participants will take a test and examine an aspect of their own personalities as well as explore the nature of such tests.

EXHIBIT H Room 15: PERCEPTUAL ILLUSIONS...
One of the oldest concerns for psychologists is that of human perception.. The study of principles that underlie the mental process of interpreting events in the physical world. Some of the clues to understanding these processes came from studying visual illusions. Intrigued by these common mistakes in judgement, we have discovered mechanisms that underlie the "normal" perception. Looking at the perceptual principle of constancy, we will examine the following illusions which underlie much of our everyday perceptual experiences:

1. Moon Illusion
2. Ponzo Illusion
3. Muller-Lyer Illusion
4. Necker Cube
5. Ames Distorted Room
6. Trapezoidal Window
7. Interactive Perceptual Experiments

MAIN AFTERNOON EXHIBIT Boyd Science Center
Interdisciplinary Programs at Muskingum College
NEUROSCIENCE...
Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field in which scientists investigate the full spectrum of structure and function of the brain. Scientists with interests ranging from the microscopic structure of the neuron and its biochemical processes to the organization of the brain and its relation to emotions, cognitions and behavior work together toward a common goal - to provide answers to our most pressing personal and social problems. Presently, neuroscience is one of the fastest growing areas in basic scientific research.

Ecological Research
This program will summarize research conducted this past summer on grassland-nesting birds at the Wilds near Cumberland, OH. The Wilds is a reclaimed stripmine and the goal of this research is to examine which species use this land for nesting compared to similar unmined lands. Among others, the Henslow's Sparrow, a regionally endangered species, currently makes use of the Wilds for nesting.

CONSERVATION SCIENCE...
The environmental problems we face today are complex and very much in the public eye due to the potential impact they have on economic, social, and political issues. Consequently, the misinformation that exists regarding these problems is great. This session will address a few of the enviromental problems we face and the differences between them. Global climate change, ozone depletion, smog, and acid rain will be discussed.

Conservation Science
Maintaining the earth's biological diversity is the major concern of this field. While many leaders come from the academic disciplines of ecology and population biology, this major draws on expertise from economics, philosophy, psychology, law, politics, etc.. As we continue to witness unprecedented species losses on a daily basis, conservation biology must be considered a crisis discipline, with decisions being made under severe time pressures. Conservation Science is Muskingum's newest interdisciplinary major and this presentation focusses primarily on the conservation of large endangered African mammals.

For more information write or call Dr. Dominic Costanzo, Chair, Department of Psychology, Muskingum College, New Concord, OH 43762 [614-826-8353]. Or click on the mailbox to send an e-mail message.