Psychology 409a Driving Psychology Spring 2009 University of Hawaii

Dr. Leon James, Instructor

Instructions and Schedule for Class Activities

V. 10

Table of Contents

Readings. 1

Book Chapters. 1

Articles. 1

Class 1 (January 12). 3

Class 2 (January 26) (no class on the 19th). 3

Class 3 (February 2). 5

Class 4 (Feb. 9). 6

Class 5 (Feb. 23) (no class on 16). 7

Class 6 (March 2). 8

Class 7 (March 9). 9

Class 8 (March 16). 9

Class 9 (March 30) (no class M/23). 9

Class 10 (April 6). 10

Class 11 (April 13). 10

Class 12 (April 20). 11

Class 13 (April 27). 11

Class 14 (May 4). 11

Instructions for Presentations. 12

 

 

 

Readings

Book Chapters

R             Road Rage and Aggressive Driving by James and Nahl

T              Traffic by Vanderbilt

A             Articles on the Web by various authors

 

Articles

1. Traffic Psychology at the University of Hawaii
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/traffic/tpintro.html

2. Driving Psychology Principles: Part 1
www.drdriving.org/articles/driving_psy.htm

3. Driving Psychology Principles: Part 2
www.drdriving.org/articles/principles.htm

4. The Merging Debate
http://www.drdriving.org/#merging

5. Psychology of Hypermiling
http://www.drdriving.org/#hypermiling

6. Psychology of Hypermiling
http://www.drdriving.org/#hypermiling

7. Psychology of Hypermiling
http://www.drdriving.org/#hypermiling

8. Driving Distracted: Theory and Facts (2002)
www.drdriving.org/articles/distracted.htm

9. The Merging Debate
http://www.drdriving.org/#merging

10. Do a Google search in Groups for “proper merging” and summarize what you find:
http://groups.google.com/groups/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&num=100&q=%22proper+merging%22&qt_s=Search

11. Do a Google Web search for "late merging" and driving” and summarize what you find:
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&newwindow=1&q=%22late+merging%22+and+driving

12. Gender and Driving in the Student Generational Reports: summarize what you find in this file:
http://www.drdriving.org/articles/gender.htm

13..Befriending the Automobile to Relieve Anxiety
http://www.drdriving.org/misc/anthropomorph.html

14. Gender and Driving on Dr.Driving.org
http://www.drdriving.org/articles/gender.htm  (see also Goggle search on that topic)

15. Present a summary or overview of the generational student reports on gender differences, linked on this page (there are 14 student reports listed at the top of the file):
http://www.drdriving.org/articles/gender.htm

16. Risk taking and dangerous behaviors among men and women :
http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/365.asp
http://www.sirc.org/publik/driving.pdf
http://www.maa.org/mathland/mathtrek_04_17_06.html

17. The “Science of Gender” Student Debate at Harvard:
http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/debate05/debate05_index.html

18. Google “Quality Driving Circles” (with the quotes). You will get about 30 results. Go to the bottom of the page and click on repeat the search with the omitted results included. You will then get about 300 results. Now explore them and report on your selection(s).

19. Google “Quality Driving Circles” (with the quotes). You will get about 30 results. Go to the bottom of the page and click on repeat the search with the omitted results included. You will then get about 300 results. Now explore them and report on your selection(s).

20. Congressional Testimony on Aggressive Driving.
http://www.drdriving.org/articles/testimony.htm

21. Songs About Driving Cars on Roads and Highways
http://www.drdriving.org/travel/songs.htm

22. Pedestrian Psychology
http://www.drdriving.org/pedestrians/index.htm

23. Bicycling -- Sharing the Road
http://www.drdriving.org/pedestrians/bicycling.htm

 

Class 1 (January 12)

Lecture on G29 (Syllabus, HP)

Attendance

Round the table intros (teams of two introduce each other)

Quiz teams of four fill out Quiz on driving statistics. Winning team members receive a bonus point (+1)

New teams of four meet and come up with one debate topic and one exercise. The teams present their proposal. Class votes to select best team suggestion. Winning team members receive a bonus point (+1). Each team selects one member to email Dr. James (leon@hawaii.edu ) with the team’s suggestion for debates and exercises. This will help him to schedule those events.

 

Class 2 (January 26) (no class on the 19th)

Readings:

Team A:                                               1, 4, 5                    R 1-34, T 1-26, A 1

Team B:                                                7, 9, 10                  R 36-43, T 26-40, A 2

Commentators/Raters:                 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

 

Debate:

Lowering Drinking Age

Teams will be selected in class, so be prepared for both sides.

Resolved that the legal drinking age should be lowered

(see the assigned articles to read).

  1. There are 4 teams of students. Each team receives a job title, and meets together to prepare for it:

    The Team for the Resolution
    The Team against the Resolution
    The Team of Commentators
    The Team of Raters

    Make sure that you read all of the instructions below so that you are aware of what each team will be doing in relation to your team. Review the criteria for points in the instructions for the Team of Judges. This will allow you to prepare better for your presentation.

  2. The Team for the Resolution prepares by making a list of the detrimental effects of lowering the drinking age, and a list of the advantages of lowering the drinking age. Compare the two lists. Try to show that the advantages involved outweigh the detrimental effects, and that in the long run, the advantages are worth it. All members should be taking notes. Now plan your presentation by deciding who will present what arguments. Each member can speak more than once, but once is the minimum.

  3. The Team against the Resolution prepares by making a list of the detrimental effects of lowering the drinking age, and a list of the advantages of lowering the drinking age. Compare the two lists. Try to show that the detrimental effects involved outweigh the advantages, and that in the long run, the advantages are not worth it. All members should be taking notes. Now plan your presentation by deciding who will present what arguments. Each member can speak more than once, but once is the minimum.

  4. The Team of Commentators prepares by making up two lists, one with arguments for the resolution, and one with arguments against the resolution. Now make up several questions you can address to the members of the For and Against teams. You need to take notes during each presentation, jotting down some of the things that

    * were not presented clearly or need further amplification
    * were not logical or convincing and need to be re-stated
    * were ignored when they should be taken into account
    * etc.

    After each speaker ends, it is your turn to make comments before the next speaker begins. You can take more than one turn. Each of you must ask a minimum of two questions. Be sure to listen to the answer, and come up with follow-up questions to help the speaker address the issue more specifically. You are also encouraged to state your own opinions or reasoning, since your role is to be a “critic” as a way of stimulating debate, and not an impartial “judge” to evaluate the presentation. You can also use appropriate humor, if you like. But keep in mind that the goal you need to achieve is bring out additional ideas and perspectives that were not considered.

  5. The Team of Raters selects a Chair and prepares by making two lists, one identifying the reasons people have for wanting to lower the legal drinking age, and the other, the things they need to consider according to those who oppose lowering the age. Discuss under what conditions lowering the legal drinking age might be a benefit, and when there are harmful effects outweighing the conveniences or advantages. Make a list of the issues that the two teams should handle effectively in your opinion.

    Now rate each of the 8 speakers in the two teams:

    3 points:               convincing argument, took care of both sides, effective presentation style
    2 points:               convincing argument, tried to address both sides, not very effective presentation style
    1 points:               not convincing, did not address both sides, not very effective presentation style

    Record the ratings while the person is speaking, or towards the end. Make sure you identify the team (For or Against), and the speaker (name and number).

    Finally, add up the scores for each team and give it to the Chair. If the two teams are not the same size (due to absences), you need to calculate an average with two decimal points before you give your rating to the Chair. Discard the rating sheets when you are done. Winning team members will receive 1 bonus point each for their grade total. The Chair must explain the basis for the assessment, the scales, etc.

 

Class 3 (February 2)

Generational Curriculum on Driving Psychology

  1. Each student will be presenting. Select one paragraph from two generational student reports for this class (two paragraphs in all). The two reports must each be from a different generation.
  2. First, identify the generation and the name of the student.
    Second, identify the Title of the report.
    Third, briefly explain what the students were supposed to accomplish in that report.
    Fourth, read the paragraph to the class (read slowly, with a strong voice, and look up frequently).
    Fifth, explain what it means to you.
    Select something that is meaningful to you, or, noteworthy for others to think about. Make sure you read the whole student report so you have a context from which to present your selection. Remember: There are 5 sub-tasks you need to perform (as specified above), and you need to make sure you perform each sub-task as a separate act that your audience (and professor) can easily notice. Consult your notes as you talk to make sure you don’t skip any of these 5 sub-tasks. Keep your eyes mostly on the audience (not your notes).
  3. You have a total of 4 minutes to make this presentation. Be sure to rehearse ahead of time. It helps if you practice with one or two other people, whose reactions will give you useful feedback. Sit a few feet away from the listeners when rehearsing, in order to make sure that your voice is strong throughout the presentation. You can also practice with a tape recorder, putting the recorder on the other side of the room.

The audience can ask questions at the end of each presentation.

Use this directory to locate student reports specifically on Driving Psychology:
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/gc/generations.html

 

Class 4 (Feb. 9)

Readings:

Team A:                               15, 16, 17                             R 44-57, T 40-50, A 3

Team B:                                10, 11, 12, 13                      R 57-66 (including checklists), T 51-73, A 4

Commentators:                                1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Raters:                                  6, 7, 8, 9, 14

 

Team Class Exercise: Neo Poem Challenge

Team A:                                               1, 3, 4, 5

Team B:                                                6, 9, 14

Raters:                                                  10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17

3 PM Team Meetings preparing for Presentations and Reports

 

Instructions for Team Class Exercise: Neo Poem Challenge

1)      Each team member makes up a Neo Poem composed of between 6 and 10 entries that you select from the Master Neochart at:
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/neochartp1.htm#intro
Each entry forms one poem line. The selections must be restricted to topics that relate to this class. Make sure you read the Introductory article there.

2)      Each student in turn reads the prepared poem.
Start by giving an introduction explaining what the poem is about.
Try to give an explanation that would help audience members figure out the meaning of the poem, since this will be the criterion for rating it. Follow an alternating order between the two teams.

3)      The Raters will elect a Chair. All raters write down the rating given for each poem, using a rating scale you make up such as this one for example:

3 points: overall meaning clearly understandable, interesting, fun
2 points: partly meaningful, interesting, fun
1 point:  no clear overall meaning, but interesting, fun

4)      The Chair will add up the scores and write it on the blackboard. Winning team members receive 1 bonus point each, to be added to their grade point total.

 

Class 5 (Feb. 23) (no class on 16)

Readings:

Team A:                               1, 3, 5                    R 69-82 (including checklists), T 74-89, A 5

Team B:                                9, 10, 14                R84-91 (including checklists), T 89-101, A 6

Commentators:                                15, 16, 17

Raters:                                  11, 12, 13

 

Team Class Exercise: Neo Poem Challenge (repeat)

Team A:                               5, 9, 12, 14, 17

Team B:                                1, 13, 16, 15

Raters:                                  3, 10, 11

3 PM Team Meetings preparing for Presentations and Reports

 

Class 6 (March 2)

Readings:

Team A:                               1, 3, 5                    R 91-100 (including checklists), T 102-118, A 7

Team B:                                9, 10, 14                R 101-108 (including checklists), T 119-130, A 8

Commentators:                                15, 16, 17

Raters:                                  11, 12, 13

 

Team Class Exercise: Neo Poem Challenge (repeat)

Team A:                              

Team B:                               

Raters:                                 

3 PM Team Meetings preparing for Presentations and Reports

 

Class 7 (March 9)

Readings:

Team A:                               11, 12, 13                             R 111-119 (including checklists), T 131-142, A 9

Team B:                                15, 16, 17                             R 120-122 (including checklists), T 143-152, A 10

Commentators:                                1, 5, 10

Raters:                                  3, 14, 9

 

Team Class Exercise: Neo Poem Challenge (repeat)

Team A:                              

Team B:                               

Raters:                                 

3 PM Team Meetings preparing for Presentations and Reports

 

Class 8 (March 16)

Readings:

Team A:                               11, 12, 13                             R 122-132 (including checklists), T 153-161, A 11

Team B:                                15, 16, 17                             R 132-142 (including checklists), T 161-175, A 12

Commentators:                                1, 5, 10

Raters:                                  3, 14, 9

 

Team exercise practicing interview dialog – see Instructions for Typed Report.

 

Class 9 (March 30) (no class M/23)

Readings:

Team A:                               1, 3, 10,                 R 143-150 (including checklists), T 176-185, A 13

Team B:                                5, 9, 14                  R 151-157 (including checklists), T 186-210, A 14

Commentators:                                12, 15, 17

Raters:                                  11, 13, 16

 

Class 10 (April 6)

Readings:

Team A:                               11, 12, 10                             R 158-165 (including checklists), T 211-230, A 15

Team B:                                13, 15, 17                             R 167-173 (including checklists), T 231-243, A 16

Commentators:                                1, 3, 5

Raters:                                  9, 16, 14

 

Team exercise practicing interview dialog – see Instructions for Typed Report.

 

 

Class 11 (April 13)

Readings:

Team A:                               5, 9, 14                  R 173-177 (including checklists), T 244-262, A 17

Team B:                                1, 3, 16                  R 178-183 (including checklists), T 262-275, A 18

Commentators:                                11, 13, 17

Raters:                                  12, 15, 10

 

Team exercise practicing interview dialog – see Instructions for Typed Report.

 

Class 12 (April 20)

Readings:

Team A:                               11, 12, 13                             R 184-189 (including checklists), T 277-286, A 19

Team B:                                10, 14, 15                             R 190-199 (including checklists), R 199-206, A 20

Commentators:                                1, 5, 16

Raters:                                  3, 9  

 

Team exercise practicing interview dialog – see Instructions for Typed Report.

 

Class 13 (April 27)

Readings:

Team A:                               1, 3, 5                    R 207-213- (including checklists), , A 21

Team B:                                9, 15, 16                R 219-228 (including checklists), R 228-233, A 22

Commentators:                                11, 12, 13

Raters:                                  10, 14

 

Class 14 (May 4)

Readings:

Team A:                               1, 9, 10                  R 236-252, R 243-249, A 23

Team B:                                3, 5, 16                  R 254-260, R 261-268, A 3

Commentators:                                11, 13

Raters:                                  12, 14, 15

 

 

Instructions for Presentations

 

After the roster call, and the initial Question-Answer Period (if anyone has any), there will be a 15-min. meeting of all Teams to prepare for the presentations.

 

Team members are expected to sit together in class during the presentations.

 

It is very important that each Team member come prepared to these meetings. Team members count on each other to be prepared by doing all the readings scheduled for that day. This applies to the two Teams of Presenters, the Team of Raters, and the Team of Commentators. Again: all students, not just the Presenters, are to read all the readings for the week, each week.

 

A presenter is expected to stand while making the presentation. Presenters are expected to begin by saying:

“My name is [First Name and Last Name] (both are required), and I have number zz. I am presenting Chapter 2 of the Road Rage book.” (etc.)

 

Agree jointly on a presentation style that will go well with the content of the assigned readings. Examples of presentation styles include, but are not limited to, the following. You can use more than one style to present the three portions of your topic.

Making up a dialog between two friends, or a formal interview with a reporter.

Arranging the dialog parts into a theater play, or semi-serious academic spoof.

Radio talk show with call in dialog, or email responses

Creating a Game that teaches the topic and involving the audience in the Game.

Presenting a paper report at a conference on some specific topic.

Answering interview questions or news items

Etc.

Prepare your part with the content, then meet again to rehearse with your team. When rehearsing together, be sure to make suggestions on each other’s performance for any changes you think might improve the presentation. Remember this: The content and the information is primary, while the presentation style is secondary. An interesting and entertaining style of presentation is possible while at the same time sticking to the useful aspects of the topic. Your main job is to present pieces of the topic and information that you have jointly identified as useful and worthwhile.

 

The Team of Raters are required to meet and come up each time with a method of assessment that is relevant to the scheduled topic and exercise. Each time, select a Chair. The assessment point system you make up should give positive points to each presenter for effective delivery style and clarity of explanations, and negative points for insufficient or unclear content. Since you are also familiar with the assigned chapters for the day you can assess the Presentation for its thoroughness and clarity. As a listener you also need to evaluate the effectiveness of the presentation style, whether it enhanced or detracted from the content. Be sure to take notes while the Presentation is going on, so you don’t rely on memory later. You can also ask the Presenter follow up questions when you think the point deserves to be made.

 

Each Rater adds up their point total for each team (an average might be needed if the two Presenter Teams are not the same size), and reports this total (or average) to the Chair. The Chair will then announce the results to the Class by giving the point total for each Team (or average), and writing it on the blackboard, and explaining at the same time, the rating scales that were used.

 

Winning Team members receive 1 Bonus Point. Note that only the two Presenter Teams (for Readings and for Exercise) are selected in advance on the schedule of classes. Raters and Commentators are selected at the beginning of each class, after Class Attendance is taken. Since you won’t know in advance which one you will be, it is especially important to support your team members by coming prepared. This means doing all the assigned Readings for that day, and to have your notes or questions with you for the team meeting.

 

Team of Commentators are required to meet each time and come up with about 10 questions based on the Readings for that day. For this to be successful, you need to write down questions as you read the assigned Readings, and bring your notes to the team meeting. Select a Chair. Each Commentator is required to ask at least two questions for that day. At least two Commentators must ask a question after each Presenter completes a presentation.

 

Note that only the Presenter Teams (for Readings and for Exercise) are selected in advance on the schedule of classes. Raters and Commentators are selected at the beginning of each class, after Class Attendance is taken. Since you won’t know in advance which one you will be, it is especially important to support your team members by coming prepared. This means doing all the assigned Readings for that day, and to have your notes or questions with you for the team meeting.

 

All students in class, regardless of the team, can ask follow up questions of any Presenter, or make comments. This general participation is a good practice for oral skills, and is encouraged. It also makes the class more interesting and dynamic. If you want to keep your 40 points for the oral grade you cannot remain silent. The Instructor keeps notes about all students as part of the point based grading procedure described in the Syllabus.

 

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