Second languages

Presented to the
Seminar in Learning Theory

Tribute to Noam Chomsky

A survey of the literature suggests that the same learning principles underlie both native and foreign languages. If the focus of instruction is on communicative intent, rather than phonological repetition, then learning a foreign language recapitulates the stages that children follow when learning their first language. Contrary to popular belief, adults may have an advantage over children. Chomsky’s review of Skinner’s ‘Verbal Behavior’ has been hailed as the most influential document in the history of psychology. Nowhere is this more evident than in the recent literature on language development ~>[Read more]

A neurological basis for hallucinatory experience

Senior Thesis

Presented to the Department of Psychology 

California State University, Long Beach

“Each person is capable of perceiving infinitely more. The universe is funneled through the reducing valve of the brain and nervous system ..what comes out at the other end is a measly trickle.”

From ‘The Doors of Perception’ by Aldous Huxley

Abstract: The Serotonin Hypothesis offers the most plausible explanation for hallucinatory experience in neuroscience. It is consistent with reports from Anthropologists describing the experience of people participating in Indian peyote ceremonies. It also comes close to reports by Clinical Psychologists documenting the experience of members of the psychiatric population. Neuroscience informs us that a major function of the central nervous system is to filter and reduce information reaching the brain to manageable and ‘culturally-relevant’ levels. The serotonin hypothesis tells us that hallucinations occur when these filters are lifted and areas of the brain involved with conscious experience are released from the constraints they are ordinarily under. Anthropologists report a similar process. They say that the guided peyote session serves to temporarily remove barriers inside the mind and allow for conscious-states that are not ordinarily accessible. I find this compelling evidence in support of the serotonin hypothesis as a model for hallucinatory experience. It also strengthens the argument that peyote sessions could serve as a useful method-of-investigation for Psychologists.

~>[Read more]