Personal Application Questions for Psych 100 (Open Stax by Costa)

3 points- Due Monday in class

PURPOSE: Connecting new concepts to personal experiences helps aid in your understanding and your ability to remember the information. So, the goal of this weekly exercise is twofold: 1) to help you connect with the material, making it more memorable (& meaningful); 2) give you a chance to familiarize yourself with the material BEFORE coming to class Monday morning. That way, you’ll have a context for our in-class discussions, so please be prepared to share your responses in small peer groups each week.

DIRECTIONS: Each Monday, you turn in a response to one question from the related chapter we’re covering that week (see p. 6 of syllabus for schedule). Just keep it to one paragraph, and it may be typed, or neatly printed. (3 pts each). If something (REALLY important, or you’re sick) gets in the way of coming to class, then you may submit it as an attachment via Canvas email before the end of the day for 1/3 points.

HOW IT WILL BE GRADED: Most of your responses will be from personal experience, but you’ll still need to identify KEY CONCEPTS from the chapter. Demonstrate that you read the related section by underlining the psychological concept, AND indicating the specific chapter section where you derived the background information for your response (i.e., Psychoanalytic theory, section 1.2).

*Socrative supplement: You may also respond to an additional question if you feel the weekly Socrative questions did not reliably reflect your understanding of the required reading for the week. For example, you earn a 3/5 on a Socrative, then you may respond to a 2^nd question (not the one that you turned in Monday) that Friday, to “bump” up your points to a possible 5/5.

Ch 1 Introduction

Why are you taking this course? What do you hope to learn about during this course?
Freud is probably one of the most well-known historical figures in psychology. Where have you encountered references to Freud or his ideas about the role that the unconscious mind plays in determining conscious behavior?
Now that you’ve been briefly introduced to some of the major areas within psychology, which are you most interested in learning more about? Why?
Which of the career options described in this section is most appealing to you?

Ch 2: Research Methods

Healthcare professionals cite an enormous number of health problems related to obesity, and many people have an understandable desire to attain a healthy weight. There are many diet programs, services, and products on the market to aid those who wish to lose weight. If a close friend was considering purchasing or participating in one of these products, programs, or services, how would you make sure your friend was fully aware of the potential consequences of this decision? What sort of information would you want to review before making such an investment or lifestyle change yourself?
A friend of yours is working part-time in a local pet store. Your friend has become increasingly interested in how dogs normally communicate and interact with each other, and is thinking of visiting a local veterinary clinic to see how dogs interact in the waiting room. After reading this section, do you think this is the best way to better understand such interactions? Do you have any suggestions that might result in more valid data?
As a college student, you are no doubt concerned about the grades that you earn while completing your coursework. If you wanted to know how overall GPA is related to success in life after college, how would you choose to approach this question and what kind of resources would you need to conduct this research?
Earlier in this section, we read about research suggesting that there is a correlation between eating cereal and weight. Cereal companies that present this information in their advertisements could lead someone to believe that eating more cereal causes healthy weight. Why would they make such a claim and what arguments could you make to counter this cause-and-effect claim?
Recently a study was published in the journal, Nutrition and Cancer, which established a negative correlation between coffee consumption and breast cancer. Specifically, it was found that women consuming more than 5 cups of coffee a day were less likely to develop breast cancer than women who never consumed coffee (Lowcock, Cotterchio, Anderson, Boucher, & El-Sohemy, 2013). Imagine you see a newspaper story about this research that says, “Coffee Protects Against Cancer.” Why is this headline misleading and why would a more accurate headline draw less interest.
Sometimes, true random sampling can be very difficult to obtain. Many researchers make use of convenience samples as an alternative. For example, one popular convenience sample would involve students enrolled in Introduction to Psychology courses. What are the implications of using this sampling technique?
Peer review is an important part of publishing research findings in many scientific disciplines. This process is normally conducted anonymously; in other words, the author of the article being reviewed does not know who is reviewing the article, and the reviewers are unaware of the author’s identity. Why would this be an important part of this process?
Take a few minutes to think about all of the advancements that our society has achieved as a function of research involving animal subjects. How have you, a friend, or a family member benefited directly from this kind of research?

Ch 3 Biopsychology

You share half of your genetic makeup with each of your biological parents, but you are no doubt very different from both of them. Spend a few minutes jotting down the similarities and differences between you and your parents, if you know them (some of you may be adopted). How do you think your unique environment and experiences have contributed to some of the differences you see?
Have you or someone you know ever been prescribed a psychotropic medication? If so, what side effects were associated with the treatment?
Hopefully, you do not face real physical threats from potential predators on a daily basis. However, you probably have your fair share of stress. What situations are your most common sources of stress? What can you do to try to minimize the negative consequences of these particular stressors in your life?
You read about H. M.’s memory deficits following the bilateral removal of his hippocampus and amygdala. Have you encountered a character in a book, television program, or movie that suffered memory deficits? How was that character similar to and different from H. M.?
Given the negative health consequences associated with the use of anabolic steroids, what kinds of considerations might be involved in a person’s decision to use them?

Ch 4: States of Consciousness

We experience shifts in our circadian clocks in the fall and spring of each year with time changes associated with daylight saving time. Is springing ahead or falling back easier for you to adjust to, and why do you think that is?
What do you do to adjust to the differences in your daily schedule throughout the week? Are you running a sleep debt when daylight saving time begins or ends?
Have you (or someone you know) ever experienced significant periods of sleep deprivation because of simple insomnia, high levels of stress, or as a side effect from a medication? What were the consequences of missing out on sleep?
Researchers believe that one important function of sleep is to facilitate learning and memory. How does knowing this help you in your college studies? What changes could you make to your study and sleep habits to maximize your mastery of the material covered in class?
What factors might contribute to your own experiences with insomnia?
Many people experiment with some sort of psychoactive substance at some point in their lives. Why do you think people are motivated to use substances that alter consciousness?
Under what circumstances would you be willing to consider hypnosis and/or meditation as a treatment option? What kind of information would you need before you made a decision to use these techniques?

Ch 6: Learning Theories

What is your personal definition of learning? How do your ideas about learning compare with the definition of learning presented in this text?
What kinds of things have you learned through the process of classical conditioning? Operant conditioning? Observational learning? How did you learn them?
Can you think of an example in your life of how classical conditioning has produced a positive emotional response, such as happiness or excitement? How about a negative emotional response, such as fear, anxiety, or anger?
Explain the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment, and provide several examples of each based on your own experiences
Think of a behavior that you have that you would like to change. How could you use behavior modification, specifically positive reinforcement, to change your behavior? What is your positive reinforcer?
What is something you have learned how to do after watching someone else?

Ch 7: Memory

Describe something you have learned that is now in your procedural memory. Discuss how you learned this information.
Describe something you learned in high school that is now in your semantic memory.
Describe a flashbulb memory of a significant event in your life.
Which of the seven memory errors presented by Schacter have you committed? Provide an example of each one.
Jurors place a lot of weight on eyewitness testimony. Imagine you are an attorney representing a defendant who is accused of robbing a convenience store. Several eyewitnesses have been called to testify against your client. What would you tell the jurors about the reliability of eyewitness testimony?
Create a mnemonic device to help you remember a term or concept from this chapter.
What is an effective study technique that you have used? How is it similar to/different from the strategies suggested in this chapter?

Ch 9: Lifespan Development

How are you different today from the person you were at 6 years old? What about at 16 years old? How are you the same as the person you were at those ages?
Your 3-year-old daughter is not yet potty trained. Based on what you know about the normative approach, should you be concerned? Why or why not?
Explain how you would use your understanding of one of the major developmental theories to deal with each of the difficulties listed below:
Your infant daughter puts everything in her mouth, including the dog's food.
Your eight-year-old son is failing math; all he cares about is baseball.
Your two-year-old daughter refuses to wear the clothes you pick for her every morning, which makes getting dressed a twenty-minute battle.
Your sixty-eight-year-old neighbor is chronically depressed and feels she has wasted her life.
Your 18-year-old daughter has decided not to go to college. Instead she’s moving to Colorado to become a ski instructor.
Your 11-year-old son is the class bully.

Which parenting style describes how you were raised? Provide an example or two to support your answer.
Would you describe your experience of puberty as one of pride or embarrassment? Why?
Your best friend is a smoker who just found out she is pregnant. What would you tell her about smoking and pregnancy?
Imagine you are a nurse working at a clinic that provides prenatal care for pregnant women. Your patient, Anna, has heard that it’s a good idea to play music for her unborn baby, and she wants to know when her baby’s hearing will develop. What will you tell her?
Have you ever had to cope with the loss of a loved one? If so, what concepts described in this section provide context that may help you understand your experience and process of grieving.
If you were diagnosed with a terminal illness would you choose hospice care or a traditional death in a hospital? Why?

Ch 14: Stress, Lifestyle & Health (Happiness)

Think of a time in which you and others you know (family members, friends, and classmates) experienced an event that some viewed as threatening and others viewed as challenging. What were some of the differences in the reactions of those who experienced the event as threatening compared to those who viewed the event as challenging? Why do you think there were differences in how these individuals judged the same event?
Suppose you want to design a study to examine the relationship between stress and illness, but you cannot use the Social Readjustment Rating Scale. How would you go about measuring stress? How would you measure illness? What would you need to do in order to tell if there is a cause-effect relationship between stress and illness?
If a family member or friend of yours has asthma, talk to that person (if he or she is willing) about their symptom triggers. Does this person mention stress or emotional states? If so, are there any commonalities in these asthma triggers?
Try to think of an example in which you coped with a particular stressor by using problem-focused coping. What was the stressor? What did your problem-focused efforts involve? Were they effective?
Think of an activity you participate in that you find engaging and absorbing. For example, this might be something like playing video games, reading, or a hobby. What are your experiences typically like while engaging in this activity? Do your experiences conform to the notion of flow? If so, how? Do you think these experiences have enriched your life? Why or why not?

Ch 12: Social Psychology

Provide a personal example of an experience in which your behavior was influenced by the power of the situation.
Think of an example in the media of a sports figure—player or coach—who gives a self-serving attribution for winning or losing. Examples might include accusing the referee of incorrect calls, in the case of losing, or citing their own hard work and talent, in the case of winning.
Try attending a religious service very different from your own and see how you feel and behave without knowing the appropriate script. Or, try attending an important, personal event that you have never attended before, such as a bar mitzvah (a coming-of-age ritual in Jewish culture), a quinceañera (in some Latin American cultures a party is given to a girl who is turning 15 years old), a wedding, a funeral, or a sporting event new to you, such as horse racing or bull riding. Observe and record your feelings and behaviors in this unfamiliar setting for which you lack the appropriate script. Do you silently observe the action, or do you ask another person for help interpreting the behaviors of people at the event? Describe in what ways your behavior would change if you were to attend a similar event in the future?
Name and describe at least three social roles you have adopted for yourself. Why did you adopt these roles? What are some roles that are expected of you, but that you try to resist?

Ch 15: Psychological Disorders

Identify a behavior that is considered unusual or abnormal in your own culture; however, it would be considered normal and expected in another culture.
Think of someone you know who seems to have a tendency to make negative, self-defeating explanations for negative life events. How might this tendency lead to future problems? What steps do you think could be taken to change this thinking style?
Imagine that a child has a genetic vulnerability to antisocial personality disorder. How might this child’s environment shape the likelihood of developing this personality disorder?