UNIT 3&4 - questions PDF

Preview

Summary

questions ...

Description

Short-Answer Questions 1.

In your own words, briefly explain how well the concepts of drive and homeostasis contribute to understanding sexual motivation. If you consider sexual motivation in terms of biology only it is explained by drive theory. When a person becomes sexually aroused their bodies equilibrium (for homeostatic state) is disrupted. This causes a rise in temperature, increase in heart rate, and muscle tension, just to name a few biological reactions. This shift in internal tension then motivates the being to engage in sexual activity in order to release the build-up tension and have the body return to its original state. This is basically the definition of drive. Sexual motivation may be described as a drive theory in biological needs. When a person becomes sexually aroused their bodies go through homeostasis. The human sexual response causes muscle tension, respiration rate, heart rate, and blood pressure to increase quickly. This tension motivates the person to engage in sexual activity in order to come to their resolution phase and have their body return to its comfort zone. Sexual motivation is driven by drives but not as much as hunger or fatigue might be. Therefore, it is not as easily explained in terms of homeostasis or maintaining equilibrium. Sexual motivation in humans appears to be more under the influence of incentives than are hunger and thirst. These are influenced by a complex network of biological and social factors. Drive theory tells us that our biological needs are driven by a desire to maintain equilibrium or homeostasis within our bodies. Sexuality is a primary need for a species because it is needed for reproduction but others may not view this as a need for survival, unlike hunger and thirst. Sexual activity in theory would result in at least a temporary return to homeostasis where the urge for sexual activity is satisfied by the activity itself As noted in the Critical Thinking section of Chapter 10, people display a number of common fallacies in their reasoning. Identify whether each of the following statements is an example of a slippery slope, a weak analogy, a false dichotomy, irrelevant reasoning, or circular reasoning. Provide support for your answer.

2. “If marijuana is legalized, then the next thing you know heroin will be legal.”

- Slippery slope – this asserts that if marijuana is legalized then things will get out of control and heroin would be legalized, it is a slippery slope because there is no inherent connection between marijuana legalization and the predicted legalization of heroin 3. “On average, women have smaller heads than men. Thus, men are more intelligent than women.” - Irrelevant reasons – the conclusion does not follow from the premise – there is no relationship between head size and intelligence 4. “All animals are either mammals or fish.” - False dichotomy – only two outcomes are presented as possibilities, when in reality there could be other outcomes 5. “Barack Obama is a good communicator because he speaks effectively.” - Circular reasoning – premise and conclusion are simply restatements of each other Identify which broad category of test (e.g., mental ability, personality) and which type of specific test category (e.g., achievement, aptitude, intelligence, creativity) is illustrated in the following examples. You may refer to more than one kind of test. Support your answer, where appropriate, by commenting on the validity and reliability of the type of test that you identify.

6. Rick was writing a test for admission to pilot school. He was required to visualize pictures from a different angle than the pictures presented and to draw them. - Mental ability test - Aptitude test - Pilots need t have spatial awareness - If the test is for admission to school that means anyone applying would take it - Reliability of the test would be measured based on the number of successful graduates from the school who took the test, showing that the test is a good predictor of who would have the aptitude to be successful in the program - The validity of the test would be measured by criterion-related validity measures, the school knows what traits a student needs to be a pilot, and uses the test to evaluate for them

7. Anica, the feature editor of a high school newspaper, wanted to pursue journalism as a career, but she wanted to be sure she was making the right choice. The school guidance counsellor, Mr. Evans, gave Anica a standardized test that measured her arithmetic and vocabulary abilities, as well as her general world knowledge. In addition, Anica was asked to find missing elements in a picture and to assemble blocks to form a specific design. She passed the test with flying colours, but was still perplexed about whether she had the talent necessary to pursue her journalistic interests. - Mental ability test, achievement, intelligence and aptitude - Anica was tested on prior knowledge (achievement), math and vocabulary (intelligence) and spatial awareness and association (aptitude) - The test was valid due to criterion-related validity, the guidance counselor understood that successful journalists have specific traits like intelligence, writing ability, and creativity, all of which the test integrated 8. Harold is a boy in a special school for the mentally handicapped. Every two years, a psychologist administers tests to Harold to determine his cognitive skills and his knowledge acquisition to see whether he can be placed in a normal school. The results predict that Harold would have great difficulty with the material taught in a normal school. - Mental ability test, achievement and intelligence - Harold is tested on his prior knowledge (achievement) and cognitive skills (intelligence) - The test is validated due to content, Harold is tested on content that other students his age would learned and be able to recall 9. Andrew is a boy in a special school for the mentally handicapped. Every two years, a psychologist administers tests to Andrew to determine whether he has the necessary natural talents, abilities, and cognitive skills to be placed in a normal school. The results predict that Andrew could function well with the material taught in a normal school, but would need support from a classroom support worker. - Mental ability test Indicate which theory of emotion—James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter’s Two-Factor, or Evolutionary—applies in the examples below. More than one

theory may apply. Justify or support your explanation according to the componentts or characteristics of the theory.

10. Since her parent’s divorce two years ago, Angela seems to be constantly angry. She does not feel good about herself, she is always yelling at her mother, and she makes no effort to control her impulsive behaviour. Angela is failing at school and is becoming a disruptive student. She rationalizes her behaviour by saying, “The divorce makes me feel terrible, and I feel angry and hopeless.” - Cannon-Bard 11. Imagine that your house is on fire and you are afraid. You attribute your fear to the fact that you are shaking. - James-L – he believes that conscious experience of emotion results from one’s perception of autonomic arousal – believes that the perception of visceral arousal leads to the conscious experience of fear – You believe you are feeling fear because you are shaking 12. Steven was interested in the stock market, and invested a lot of the family’s assets, including a second mortgage on the family home, in a high-risk mining venture. When the mining venture collapsed, Steven was devastated. He felt terrible about the loss and did not know how to tell his family about it. Steven told his best friend, Bernie, that he felt “sick to his stomach”—a feeling that left him anxious and depressed because he had jeopardized his family’s welfare. - Schachter – when you experience visceral arousal, you search your environment for an explanation – Steven felt “sick to his stomach” and attributed these feelings of anxious and depression to the jeopardization of his family’s welfare. 13. Scott was walking down the street when he noticed four young people, whom he had not seen previously, walking toward him. They were crowding the sidewalk and Scott was unsure what to do. He immediately felt himself begin to tense up, his breathing became shallow and fast, and his stomach felt queasy. - Cannon-Bard – physiological arousal may occur without experience of emotion – Scott had visceral stimulation (breathing became

shallow and fast, stomach felt queasy) but he wasn’t experiencing any specific emotion when he was experiencing the physiological arousal.

Conceptual Questions 1. -

-

-

2. -

3.

Discuss the similarities between current views on the nature and assessment of intelligence vs. the nature and assessment of creativity. Creativity o Nature: adaptive, appropriate and out of the box o Assessment: associating words and associating objects with actions then being evaluated on number generated, originality and appropriateness. Intelligence o Nature: ability to reason, memorize and apply acquired knowledge, with speed and skill as well as biological associations o Assessment: manipulation of words, numbers and images through abstract reasoning, measurements of physiological characteristics (head size, diagnostic imaging) Similarities: Both ways of testing are focused on one aspect of what they are testing, and are quite accurate about it. However, it is believed that the tests are inaccurate at measuring other aspects that factor into each trait. For example, intelligence tests look at academic capability, but does not factor in emotional intelligence. Creativity tests measure creativity as a general trait, where as it is suggested that creative people tend to excel in a field in which they have training and expertise. Discuss the differences between current views on the nature and assessment of intelligence vs. the nature and assessment of creativity. Differences: intelligence testing evaluates for convergent thinking (process of elimination based on logical reasoning), whereas creative thinking tests for divergent thinking (expansion of an idea by alternative possibilities with the same outcome) - - - - Intelligence testing involves focus on the physiological traits of a person, where are creativity testing does not. Compare and contrast sexual motivation with the basic motives of hunger.

- Sexual motivation and the motives are hunger are both put into motion by disruptions in homeostasis, and the bodies way of resolving the imbalances - Both are also motivates perpetuated for survival of the species, you must eat to stay alive, and reproduce in order to create new generations - Differences – motives of hunger start at birth and are unconscious, whereas sexual motivation requires a conscious awareness of what qualifies are attractive to someone, the knowledge of how to release tension built up - Everyone feels hunger, where as there are cases of people who do not feel sexual motivation (ex. Asexuals) 4. In what ways have changing views about the influence of heredity and environment on intelligence affected the development of intelligence tests? Hereditary - Arthur Jensen – cultural differences in IQ largely due to hereditary - Genetic factors are “strongly implicated” as the cause of ethnic differences in intelligence - Ethnic differences in average intelligence is substantial – not easily reduced by educational programs for the disadvantaged - Disadvantaged groups cannot avoid their fate because it is their genetic destiny - Disadvantaged groups were not expected to score as well on IQ tests because of there “genetic disadvantage” Environment - Socioeconomic disadvantages main cause of ethnic differences in IQ - Grow up in deprived environments – long history of economic discrimination - Large families, single parent homes, factors that limit parental attention - Lower-class children exposed to fewer books and learning supplies, less privacy for concentrated studies, less parental assistance in learning - Poorer role models for language development, less pressure to work hard on intellectual pursuits, attend poorer quality schools

- Crime, drug and gang infested neighbourhoods – far more important to develop street intelligence than school intelligence - Suffer malnutrition or environmental toxins - Circumstances interfere with youngster’s intellectual development 5. Some psychologists have suggested that the function of emotions is to motivate the organism. How does this apply to Darwin’s evolutionary theory and Schachter’s Two-Factor theory of emotion? Illustrate your points with examples. Evolutionary Theory - Evolution has equipped humans with a small number of innate emotions with proven adaptive values - These emotions allow us to increase our survival by having protective qualities - Ex. Emotion of disgust – when we see a dead cat covered in maggots – grossed out and don’t touch – disgust function enable us to avoid disease and infection - Ex. Fear when in an accident – engages your “fight or flight” response to get you out of a dangerous situation – activates your autonomic nervous system and allows you to regain control of the car Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory - When you experience visceral arousal, you search your environment for an explanation - When you experience fear, you search your environment to note that you’ve experienced fear because you almost got in a car accident - This motivates an organism…. 6. Most cases of mental retardation have no identifiable organic cause. Discuss what Arthur Jensen might say about mental retardation - Jensen would state that it is caused by hereditary - He believes that the hereditability of intelligence is about 80% 7. Most cases of mental retardation have no identifiable organic cause. Discuss what David Wechsler might say about mental retardation. 8. Most cases of mental retardation have no identifiable organic cause. Discuss what Howard Gardner might say about mental retardation.

9. Most cases of mental retardation have no identifiable organic cause. Discuss what Sandra Scarr might say about mental retardation. 10. Results of research indicate that the correlation in IQ scores between identical twins reared together is higher than IQ scores of fraternal twins reared together. Which side of the nature-nurture (i.e., heredity vs. environment) debate do these results support? Provide support for your answer. Although the following example does not explicitly indicate any of the theories, apply each of the theories of emotion—James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter’s Two-Factor, and Evolutionary—to this example.

11. Harry was exhausted from a busy day at the office. Although he was in a hurry to get home, he drove cautiously on the slippery freeway. A short distance from a set of traffic lights, another driver cut in front of Harry, requiring him to hit the brakes. Harry swerved a bit into the other lane of traffic, but managed to come to a stop without incident. Harry’s heart beat rapidly, his face flushed, and his stomach felt knotted. Enraged at the other driver, Harry angrily honked his horn and impulsively made an obscene gesture toward him for almost causing a serious accident. When Harry arrived home, he mentioned the “close call” to his wife, saying, “I’m frustrated and angry that there is still no way of getting such menacing drivers off the road.” - James-Lange – Harry heart was beating rapidly, his face flushed and his stomach felt knotted – Harry’s conscious experience of emotion caused him to become angry with the other driver - Cannon-Bard – emotion occurred following the close call when the driver cut Harry off – being cut off stimulated the autonomic nervous system to use his hands to swerve the vehicle – this caused a physiological response and the emotion of anger - Schachter’s Two-Factor – Harry got cut off by the driver, which caused him to experience visceral arousal, then he searched his environment, realised that he had been cut off and assessed the situation and his emotions turned to anger - Evolutionary – Harry’s emotions were caused by adaptive values that function to increase Harry’s chance of survival – When Harry was cut off, his reaction as fear as he was put in a dangerous position that

could have caused him harm – the fear allowed Harry to go into “flight or fight” response and enabled him to regain control of the vehicle and come to a stop without incident – evolutionary traits such as fear were evolved to help individuals get out of dangerous situations to promote their survival IQ testing has been criticized on a number of fronts. Discuss two problems that illustrate IQ testing criticism in the following example.

12. Paul, an eight-year-old black child from inner-city Toronto, was given the Stanford-Binet intelligence test. His white teacher, Ms. P. Rejudice, was not surprised to learn that Paul’s IQ was below normal because, as she was fond of pointing out, “The black kids just aren’t as smart as the white kids.” When she talked with Paul’s mother, Ms. Rejudice suggested that Paul might be encouraged to play an instrument or learn a trade, like house painting, because, “He’ll never be able to do anything more with an IQ like that.” - Stereotype – Ms. P. Rejudice has a stereotype against black children by stating that they “aren’t as smart as the white kids” this can affect Paul’s scoring on his test – members of minority groups are keenly aware of any negative stereotypes that exist regarding their intellect – stereotype threat impairs test performance as people expend precious mental resources suppressing negative thoughts and monitoring themselves for signs of failure – uses working memory that is critical to success on complex cognitive tests – feelings create belonging uncertainty and if Ms. P. Rejudice was fond of pointing out that “black kids aren’t as smart as white kids” then Paul probably knew these thoughts and had doubts in his mind of the quality of social bonds and relationships in this situation - IQ test reliability - concerns when IQ jobs are used for job selection, they have an adverse impact on employment for many minority groups who tend to score lower (on average) on such tests - Cultural bias on IQ tests – IQ tests are constructed by white, middleclass psychologists – naturally draw on experience and knowledge typically of white, middle class lifestyles and use the language and vocabulary that reflects this - Exposure of information – collected data suggesting that the IQ gap between whites and blacks is due to cultural differences in knowledge

- Cultural disparities in IQ reflect differences in knowledge rather than ability...