I know nothing about this subject, where do you start

[cara.mel]

If I had about 4 more subject slots for VCE then I would have done it, btw, but I can't do 11 VCE subjects + MUEP so

Due to personal circumstances, I now have a desire to learn as much as possible.

I looked through the study design and I only don't like Unit 4 area of study 3 and something in unit two about nerves because in year 9 we learnt about sensory and motor neuron and synapse and hence I believe I know it all xD
Where do you start, you can make the assumption I know nothing in terms of a big general picture.

On a side note, I want to know why some of the optical illusions don't work for me. Some work fine, some work only when I read the description and focus on what the illusion is supposed to be, sometimes I can't get it to work even by knowing 'those lines are supposed to make this line look bendy when it in fact straight' - it is ALWAYS straight x_x
Eg:
Works: http://www.optillusions.com/dp/files/1-67.jpg, http://www.optillusions.com/dp/files/1-1.gif
Works when I think about it how it is supposed to appear (eg, if I think that people see them sloping then I can twist it to see them on slopes): http://www.optillusions.com/dp/files/1-2.gif
Doesn't work no matter how hard I try: http://www.optillusions.com/dp/files/1-29.gif, http://www.optillusions.com/dp/files/1-26.gif

[Collin Li]

Those last 2 were also quite ineffective for me, but I can get them to work if I try.

[cara.mel]

Ok, thanks coblin

I can't get things like these to work.
http://www.richardgregory.org/papers/recovery_blind/rec_blind_fig_01_hering_illusion_sm.gif - same concept as a last one, but more along the lines of what I was trying to find
http://www.questacon.edu.au/html/assets/images/muller-lyer.gif
http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moon_illusion1a.jpg

[cara.mel]

Please... ?

What would be the most simple, fundamental idea in simple words that then gets extended on for everything.

[Eriny]

Do you mean for psychology itself or for visual perception/ illusions?

[cara.mel]

Psych itself

That was just an offshoot I was always interested in xD

[Daniel08]

Psych itself

That was just an offshoot I was always interested in xD

Buy one of the prescribed books for vce psychology and read it lol

[cara.mel]

I would rather not spend $60-70 for something related to vcaa. From my experience in other subjects, you have to knock down and destroy most of what you 'learn' in vce anyway, why would I waste my time

Where is good free stuff for noob.

[Eriny]

Go to a library and pick up any introductory psych textbook. Most cover the same kinds of content. Also, if you're only looking at psych from an interested persons perspective, don't bother looking at research methods (unless you actually like stats).

[cara.mel]

Ok, thanks for your help guys, I'll hunt around the interwebs myself then if you have no specific recommendations

Also, question:
You know how there is a left hand side and right hand side of brain. If a person has 1 side working way more than normal, and one side slacking off and working way less than normal, to the point the good side has to take over some of the jobs the other side is supposed to do and consequently does a half-arsed job of it cos its not designed for these tasks, why is this. Is it because one side didnt grow properly, or aren't they talking to each other very well, or would one side be physically bigger than the other etc. Also would that in any way affect motor coordination because of the whole 'LHS of brain controls RHS of body' and vice versa thing, or is that purely to do with that part of the brain in the back (cerebelum?).
Thanks

[Daniel08]

Ok, thanks for your help guys, I'll hunt around the interwebs myself then if you have no specific recommendations

Also, question:
You know how there is a left hand side and right hand side of brain. If a person has 1 side working way more than normal, and one side slacking off and working way less than normal, to the point the good side has to take over some of the jobs the other side is supposed to do and consequently does a half-arsed job of it cos its not designed for these tasks, why is this. Is it because one side didnt grow properly, or aren't they talking to each other very well, or would one side be physically bigger than the other etc. Also would that in any way affect motor coordination because of the whole 'LHS of brain controls RHS of body' and vice versa thing, or is that purely to do with that part of the brain in the back (cerebelum?).
Thanks

Both hemispheres specialise in specific tasks (e.g. for 95% of people the language centre is in the left side of the brain). However, one side of the brain does not work in isolation, both the left hemisphere and the right work in accordance with one another to perform most tasks, they do operate seperately.

[cara.mel]

But what happens if the right hand side seems to not be working properly and things it should be doing are being handled logically instead.

[excal]

Glockmeister would have an old Psych book lying around...

[melaniej]

But what happens if the right hand side seems to not be working properly and things it should be doing are being handled logically instead.

From the retained 1/2 knowledge I have, there is a term for it, known as the plasticity of the brain, which is where, if one side of the brain is severely damaged, then control of these functions can be moved to the other side of the brain. Even things like the language centres of the brain have been found to fix after an extended period of time after the damage.
Hope this helps

[Glockmeister]

I would rather not spend $60-70 for something related to vcaa. From my experience in other subjects, you have to knock down and destroy most of what you 'learn' in vce anyway, why would I waste my time

Where is good free stuff for noob.

Mel... you can borrow my copy if you want to.

Speaking of borrowing, do you still have my philosophy book?

But to answer your question

You know how there is a left hand side and right hand side of brain. If a person has 1 side working way more than normal, and one side slacking off and working way less than normal, to the point the good side has to take over some of the jobs the other side is supposed to do and consequently does a half-arsed job of it cos its not designed for these tasks, why is this. Is it because one side didnt grow properly, or aren't they talking to each other very well, or would one side be physically bigger than the other etc. Also would that in any way affect motor coordination because of the whole 'LHS of brain controls RHS of body' and vice versa thing, or is that purely to do with that part of the brain in the back (cerebelum?).
Thanks Tongue

First of all, I should note that although there are two different sides to the brain, they work together to give us the ability to be conscious, to perceive things etc. So you normally get a case where one side of the brain 'slacks off'.

It's different though if one were to undergo brain damage (and I should so clinical, like GlaDOS). In some cases, as melaniej states you can get certain functions returning as a result of 'plasticity'. However it is not effective for this reason: certain areas of the brain has specialised local function (e.g The Primary Motor Cortex runs from the left to the right of the front side of your brain and is responsible for movement.) This sections have been doing this for aeons and obviously quite familiar with doing the tasks. If the section is damage, but plasticity occurs, then the new part of the brain assigned this task will not be able to be as efficient as the original.