Curious Minds :
Considering Motivation and Collaboration in Abnormal
Psychology Design
Norma Wolford, M.S. - Madonna University
Abstract
In this presentation I will examine strategies that encourage the natural
curiosity of students in order to establish a collaborative learning environment
that promotes student success in an abnormal psychology course. I will
discuss my experiences teaching abnormal psychology in a private university
setting and present ideas for course design that build on areas of student
interest and appeal in order to promote successful learning. The design
paradigm will be influenced by environmental factors, culture, technology,
instructional practices, and learning styles. Specific techniques will be shared
that focus on motivating students by utilizing content highly interesting to
them; content areas such as classic and contemporary art, film, and music.
Practical implementation of course activities will be demonstrated as the
presenter engages the audience in the learning process. Positive student
response to these techniques, as well as the benefits and challenges
associated with their use will be discussed.
Thoughts on Curiosity…and Education

Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of
a vigorous intellect. (Samuel Johnson)

Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but
be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of
life, of the marvelous structure of reality…..

It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.
(Albert Einstein)

Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.
(William Arthur Ward)
Topic Suggestions:
Encouraging curiosity, adding relevance






Song of the Week – thinking about familiar songs in a
new way
Weekly Art-ifact – exploring the art and science of
psychology
Literary Gems – pondering the relationship between
temperament and creativity through literature
Psychology in Film – reviewing film from a
psychological perspective
In the News – bringing the latest front page news into the
classroom
Hot Topics – discussing/debating current controversies
in the field of psychology
Song of the Week
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bd2B6SjMh_w
I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that place.
Even your emotions had an echo
In so much space
And when you're out there
Without care,
Yeah, I was out of touch
But it wasn't because I didn't know enough
I just knew too much
Does that make me crazy
Does that make me crazy
Does that make me crazy
Possibly [video version]
And I hope that you are having the time of your life
But think twice, that's my only advice
Come on now, who do you, who do you, who do you,
who do you think you are,
Ha ha ha bless your soul
You really think you're in control
Well, I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
Just like me
My heroes had the heart to Lose their lives out on a limb
And all I remember is thinking, I want to be like them
Ever since I was little, ever since I was little it looked like fun
And it's no coincidence I've come
And I can die when I'm done
Maybe I'm crazy
Maybe you're crazy
Maybe we're crazy
Possibly
Crazy –
Gnarls Barkley
Weekly Art-ifact
'Vincent' (Starry Starry Night) Montage/Music
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HFxhI_NgNBU
The Context and Colors…

Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and
grey,
Look out on a summer's
day,
With eyes that know the
darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the
daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the
winter chills,
In colors on the snowy
linen land.
The Expression…

Starry, starry night.
Flaming flowers that
brightly blaze, Swirling
clouds in violet haze,
Reflect in Vincent's eyes
of china blue.
Colors changing hue,
morning field of amber
grain,
Weathered faces lined in
pain,
Are soothed beneath the
artist's loving hand.
The Emotions…

For they could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in
sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers
often do.
But I could have told you,
Vincent,
This world was never meant
for one
As beautiful as you.
The Legacy…

Now I think I know what
you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your
sanity,
How you tried to set them
free.
They would not listen,
they're not listening still.
Perhaps they never will...
Literary Gems
The Professor’s Book Club
Psychology in Film
Psychology in Film
Psychology in the News
In the News





Experts Shy From Instant Diagnoses of Gunman’s Mental Illness, but Hints Abound
By JOHN SCHWARTZ and BENEDICT CAREY The New York Times April 20, 2007
The video testament that Cho Seung-Hui mailed to NBC during the intermission in his killing
spree offers a compelling peek into the troubles that shaped a gunman, experts in forensic
psychology say….
Dr. Michael Stone, an expert on personality disorders and killers, said in an interview that he
saw in the videos “a paranoid person with sadistic traits, possibly psychotic.” These are
people, he said, who might see conspiracies all around, and who have so little empathy that
they “can do the most heinous things almost as if they were whittling wood….”
Mr. Cho’s taped rants, and his peers’ descriptions of him as a classmate, suggest a blend of
severe and specific personality problems, said Dr. Theodore Millon, dean and scientific
director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Personology and Psychopathology in Coral
Gables, Fla., who has designed testing questionnaires used in many colleges….
People with so-called avoidant personality disorder shun social situations because of a
paralyzing dread of disapproval or criticism. Those with paranoid personality disorder nourish
a deep distrust of others and see insults and malicious meanings in almost every interaction.
Both are stubborn patterns of behavior that can begin in adolescence or earlier….”
Hot Topics: Opinion-Editorials
Op-Ed Columnist The Morality Line
By DAVID BROOKS
(Published: New York Times April 19, 2007)
Over the next few days, we’ll ponder the sources of Cho Seung-Hui’s rage. There’ll be no shortage of
analysts picking apart his hatreds, his feelings of oppression and his dark war against the rich,
Christianity and the world at large.
Some will point to the pruning of the brain synapses that may be related to adolescent schizophrenia.
Others may point to the possibility that an inability to process serotonin could have led to depression
and hyperaggression. Or we could learn that he had been born with a brain injury that made him
psychopathic. Or perhaps he was suffering from the ravages of isolation.
It could be, for example, that he grew up with some form of behavioral illness that would have made it
hard for him to interact with and respond appropriately to other people. This would have caused others
to withdraw from him, leading to a spiral of loneliness that detached him from the world and then
caused him to loathe it.
Over the next weeks, we could learn these or other things about Cho Seung-Hui. And as we learn the
facts of his life, we’ll be able to fit them into ever more sophisticated models of human behavior. For
over the past few decades, neuroscientists, evolutionary psychologists and social scientists have made
huge strides in understanding why people — even murderers — do the things they do……
In short, the killings at Virginia Tech happen at a moment when we are renegotiating what you might
call the Morality Line, the spot where background forces stop and individual choice — and individual
responsibility — begins.
Concluding thoughts





Student Response
Challenges and Solutions
Questions
Thank you!
Contact information:
nwolford@madonna.edu
734-432-5766
References







Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Brockman, J. (Ed.). (2004). Curious minds: How a child becomes a
scientist. New York, NY: Pantheon Books.
Gabbard, G.O. & Gabbard, K. (1994). Psychiatry and the Cinema.
Washington DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Gardner, H. (1993). Creating minds. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Hansell, J., & Damour, L. (2008). Abnormal psychology. Hoboken, NJ:
John Wiley & Sons.
Potkay, C.R., (1992). Teaching abnormal psychology concepts using
popular song lyrics. Teaching of Psychology 9(4), 233-234.
Roman, B., & Kay, J. (2007). Fostering curiosity: Using the educatorlearner relationship to promote a facilitative learning environment.
Psychiatry, 70(3), 205-208 .