Erik Eriksen is a remarkable individual. He has no college degrees yet is Professor of Human Development at Harvard University. He came to psychology via art, which explains why the reader will find him painting contexts and backgrounds rather than stating dull facts and concepts. He has been a training psychoanalyst for many years as well as a perceptive observer of cultural and social settings and their effect on growing up. This is not just a book on childhood. It is a panorama of our society. Anxiety in young children, apathy in American Indians, confusion in veterans of war, and arrogance in young Nazis are scrutinized under the psychoanalytic magnifying glass. The material is well written and devoid of technical jargon. The theme of the volume is that it is human to have a long childhood which will leave a lifelong residue of emotional immaturity in man. Primitive groups and

Childhood and Society.

Objective knowledge: an evolutionary approach

In this landmark book, Scott Page redefines the way we understand ourselves in relation to one another. The Difference is about how we think in groups--and how our collective wisdom exceeds the sum of its parts. Why can teams of people find better solutions than brilliant individuals working alone? And why are the best group decisions and predictions those that draw upon the very qualities that make each of us unique? The answers lie in diversity--not what we look like outside, but what we look like within, our distinct tools and abilities. The Difference reveals that progress and innovation may depend less on lone thinkers with enormous IQs than on diverse people working together and capitalizing on their individuality. Page shows how groups that display a range of perspectives outperform groups of like-minded experts. Diversity yields superior outcomes, and Page proves it using his own cutting-edge research. Moving beyond the politics that cloud standard debates about diversity, he explains why difference beats out homogeneity, whether you're talking about citizens in a democracy or scientists in the laboratory. He examines practical ways to apply diversity's logic to a host of problems, and along the way offers fascinating and surprising examples, from the redesign of the Chicago "El" to the truth about where we store our ketchup. Page changes the way we understand diversity--how to harness its untapped potential, how to understand and avoid its traps, and how we can leverage our differences for the benefit of all.

Prologue to The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies

In the process of elucidating Spencer’s First Principles and the cosmic theory of evolution, it has proved helpful already to touch on his treatment of social life in that general context. It is essential now, however, to address the theory as manifested in respect of ‘psychical’ and ‘social’ evolution, themselves intimately linked in his discussions.

Mind and Society

Adding immersive virtual reality to a science lab simulation causes more presence but less learning

Increasing evidence reveals the efficacy of dynamic assessment (DA) procedure in providing rich and reliable feedback regarding children's cognitive modifiability. The DA procedure included four phases: pre-teaching test, teaching, post-teaching and transfer test two weeks after teaching. The teaching phase includes mediated learning experience strategies. Children's cognitive modifiability was examined by pre- to post-teaching improvement and by the transfer test. Children in Grades 1 and 2 (n?=?117) were randomly assigned into three experimental groups and one control group. Each of the experimental groups was given the teaching phase in a different modality: 3D Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR, n?=?36), 2D (n?=?36), and tangible blocks (TB, n?=?24). The control group (n?=?21) was not given teaching phase. The teaching phase included strategies of solving problems from the Analogies Subtest of the Cognitive Modifiability Battery (CMB). Pre- and post-teaching CMB Analogies tests were administered to all groups followed by CMB Transfer Analogies two weeks later. The findings indicate that the 2D and TB groups showed higher cognitive modifiability than the control group. Also, the findings indicate that teaching in a 3D IVR environment contributed to the children's cognitive modifiability more than in the other groups in the CMB Transfer Analogies. The findings are discussed in relation to the unique enhancing characteristics of the 3D IVR condition combined with the applied mediation strategies. Children's cognitive modifiability was examined using dynamic assessment.Cognitive modifiability was measured in 2 computerized environments: 3D IVR and 2D.3D IVR contributed to the cognitive modifiability more than in the other groups.There was a significantly greater improvement in the analogical thinking in 3D IVR.Experiencing a DA procedure in 3D IVR demonstrate a higher learning potential.

Improving children's cognitive modifiability by dynamic assessment in 3D Immersive Virtual Reality environments

Increasing evidence reveals the efficacy of dynamic assessment (DA) procedure in providing rich and reliable feedback regarding children’s cognitive modifiability. The DA procedure included four phases: pre-teaching test, teaching, post-teaching and transfer test two weeks after teaching. The teaching phase includes mediated learning experience strategies. Children’s cognitive modifiability was examined by pre- to post-teaching improvementand by the transfer test. Children in Grades 1 and 2 (n ¼ 117) were randomly assigned into three experimental groups and one control group. Each of the experimental groups was given the teaching phase in a different modality:3D Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR, n ¼ 36), 2D (n ¼ 36), and tangible blocks (TB, n ¼ 24). The control group (n¼ 21) was not given teaching phase. The teaching phase included strategies of solving problems from the AnalogiesSubtest of the Cognitive Modifiability Battery (CMB). Pre- and post-teaching CMB Analogies tests were administered to all groups followed by CMB Transfer Analogies two weeks later. The findings indicate that the 2D and TBgroups showed higher cognitive modifiability than the control group. Also, the findings indicate that teaching in a 3D IVR environment contributed to the children’s cognitive modifiability more than in the other groups in theCMB Transfer Analogies. The findings are discussed in relation to the unique enhancing characteristics of the 3D IVR condition combined with the applied mediation strategies.

Improving children’s cognitive modifiability by dynamic assessment in 3D Immersive Virtual Reality environments

This study examined the gender differences in the preferences to varying designs of multimedia learning interfaces. In the study it was assumed that design characteristics add to the interest in learning and a taxonomy of design of efficient user interfaces for both boys and girls was developed. The research included 90 children from three kindergarten classes who used interactive multimedia stories. The research subjects responded to questions which elicited their level of satisfaction with the various interfaces. The research findings indicate that there is a significant difference in the level of satisfaction between boys and girls depending on the design of the learning interfaces. This paper reports on the findings which were statistically significant.

Gender Preferences for Multimedia Interfaces

Many researchers have found that for reasoning and reaching a reasoned conclusion, particularly when the process of induction is required, deaf and hard-of-hearing children have unusual difficulty. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the practice of rotating virtual reality (VR) three-dimensional (3D) objects will have a positive effect on the ability of deaf and hard-of-hearing children to use inductive processes when dealing with shapes. Three groups were involved in the study: (1) experimental group, which included 21 deaf and hard-of-hearing children, who played a VR 3D game; (2) control group I, which included 23 deaf and hard-of-hearing children, who played a similar two-dimensional (2D) game (not VR game); and (3) control group II of 16 hearing children for whom no intervention was introduced. The results clearly indicate that practicing with VR 3D spatial rotations significantly improved inductive thinking used by the experimental group for shapes as compared with the first control group, who did not significantly improve their performance. Also, prior to the VR 3D experience, the deaf and hard-of-hearing children attained lower scores in inductive abilities than the children with normal hearing, (control group II). The results for the experimental group, after the VR 3D experience, improved to the extent that there was no noticeable difference between them and the children with normal hearing.

Enhancing the Induction Skill of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children with Virtual Reality Technology

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the practice of rotating Virtual Reality (VR) three-dimensional (3D) objects will enhance the spatial rotation thinking of deaf and hard-of-hearing children compared to the practice of rotating two-dimensional (2D) objects. Two groups were involved in this study: an experimental group, which included 21 deaf and hardof-hearing children, who played a VR 3D game, and a control group of 23 deaf and hard-of-hearing children, who played a similar 2D (not VR) game. The results clearly indicate that practicing with VR 3D spatial rotations significantly improved the children's performance of spatial rotation, which enhanced their ability to perform better in other intellectual skills as well as in their sign language skills.

David Passig

Papers

Improving children's cognitive modifiability by dynamic assessment in 3D Immersive Virtual Reality environments

Improving children’s cognitive modifiability by dynamic assessment in 3D Immersive Virtual Reality environments

Gender Preferences for Multimedia Interfaces

Enhancing the Induction Skill of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children with Virtual Reality Technology

Virtual reality as a tool for improving spatial rotation among deaf and hard-of-hearing children.