ARTICLES

Morales, S. (2011)  Brown v. Board of Education and the Psychology of Racism in Education


In 1954, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (347 U.S. 483). The decision outlawed segregation in American public schools and overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (163 U.S. 537), an 1896 decision that had declared separate but equal education for blacks and whites constitutional. Although this milestone decision by the highest court has been generally considered to be an important turning point in constitutional law, the decision also marked a paradigm change in education because of the utilization of psychological research as a key rationale for the ruling...

Morales, S. (2010) A Theoretical Asthma Model: The Fight or Flight Response

Abstract

Asthma is generally described as an immunological reaction to a broad range of apparently irreconcilable, environmental triggers. Among these are, airborne particulate matter, greenhouse gases, biological pathogens, as well as social and psychological stressors. Epidemiological research of asthma among such a broad range of etiological agents and possible triggers, has produced an assortment of conflicting correlations; to be sure, the quest to find the single-cause of asthma has drowned in a sea of confounding variables. The present study attempts to rationalize the otherwise chaotic elements at work within the asthmatic space, via a theoretical model that proposes a plausible mediating mechanism between the environment and the individual asthma sufferer. It is specifically argued, that the fight or flight response is the mediating instrument that unifies the presentation of asthma.

Morales, S. (2010) META-LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: A New Perspective on Research

Abstract

Recent advances in technology have allowed scientists to gain important insights into the mechanisms responsible for the psychobiological response to stress; however, despite impressive scientific progress in biology, little headway has been made toward the understanding of stress in its wider, environmental context. As a result, the present study evaluates an ample selection of traditional and emerging paradigms on the subject of stress, and posits a new research method; broad enough in scope to concurrently address the specificity of biological mechanisms and the abstract dynamics of natural systems. To that end, a new model based on meta-landscape architecture is introduced and demonstrated via a recent survey by the American Psychological Association entitled Stress in America. Results confirm that using meta-landscape architecture, an integrated model of dissimilar systems can be successfully conceptualized, built and tested with statistical data.

Morales, S. (2010)  Personality Theory in the Information Age: Reengineering Freud


Abstract


It is nearly impossible to find a psychologist who has not taken a side on psychoanalytic theory; a few still believe in it, most have already decided against it. The current study examines Freud’s theory of personality, and in particular the anatomy of the mind published in 1032, from the perspective of emerging information paradigms, such as reverse engineering and the computer metaphor. Using modern terminology, Freud’s original concepts of consciousness, id, ego and superego are revisited, and a new computational prototype of personality is proposed.

Morales, S. (2009) The Grammatical Basis of Stereotypical Construction


Abstract


A hypothesis regarding the likely roots of stereotypical cognition is proposed and examined
based spontaneous word association to the prototypical word: woman. The study looked at the
similarities between natural language grammar and the structure of thoughts relating to concepts
defined by psychologists as stereotypes. This study showed a remarkable consistency between
the structures of natural languages and cognition.

Morales, S. (2011)  Multicultural Education in Public Schools: A Teacher’s Survival Guide


The melting pot paradigm is an integral part of American culture. The United States is a nation of immigrants where individualism and diversity are the ingredients that forge the American way of life (Horace, 1915). However, the idea that out of a multiplicity of races, ethnicities and languages, a homogeneous American culture can be created has proven in practice to be unachievable. This reality is particularly evident in the classroom where teachers are faced on a daily basis with a school population that is ever more complex, diverse and less homogeneous. It is the purpose of this guidebook to familiarize front-line public school teachers with the concept of multicultural education, its history, advantages and challenges; as well as to provide some recommendations and guidance on the way that culture can be integrated in class planning; so as to leverage diversity and promote cooperation.