Psychology Homework Questions

Question 1

 

The main way in which an attitude differs from an opinion is that an attitude:

 

a.  includes an emotional component.

 

b.  is held for a briefer period of time.

 

c.  pertains to people, not just facts.

 

d.  is easier to change through persuasion.

 

Explain why you selected the answer you did.

 

Question 2

 

Applied

 

2. You are in the market for a new car and think you would like to own a Saab. According to research reported by Richard Nisbett and his associates, which of the following would be most likely to influence your decision?

 

a.  television commercials for Saab that are both informative and emotionally appealing

 

b.  print ads for Saab that are primarily informative

 

c.  hearing about the huge repair bills a neighbor’s sister had on her Saab

 

d.  a high ranking made by Consumer Reports based on a sample of 75,000 miles of testing

 

 

 

Why is this the best answer and what might explain this influence?

 

 

 

Question 3

 

Research/textbook

 

3. McAlister’s field experiment was successful in helping seventh-graders resist peer pressure to smoke cigarette. What did his strategy teach students to do that proved to be effective?

 

 

 

Question 4

 

Research/reader

 

Article #10

 

4. Drawing on laboratory research conducted by Berkiwitz, Phillips tested the “modeling of aggression” hypothesis. What did Phillips’ data indicate?

 

Question 5

 

Personal Relevance

 

5. Under what circumstances are you persuaded by an argument from a peer or an associate in your life? Specifically, what are the things that they may do to increase your tendency to listen to their argument and what things should exist before you take action on their advice?

 

Question 6

 

Summary

 

6. In general, how successful are obvious attempts to persuade? Summarize one piece of research that supports the notions that direct efforts to persuade are effective, and one that indicated that such direct efforts are relatively ineffective.

 

 

 

Question 7

 

Watch the video Merchants of Cool at After watching the video or reading the article, respond the following questions. (Must be a minimum of 400 word response)

 

How, and to what extent, does the mass media influence the public’s attitudes and behaviors? Do television shows and newscasts, for example, simply reflect what is happening in the world or do they carry the potential to actually cause real-life events? Apart from advertising, do you believe the members of the media engage in deliberate attempts to persuade people to adopt certain opinions and attitudes?

 

 

 

Question 8

 

Previously we have discussed many of the pros and some of the cons of Montessori education. If any of you have personal experience with the Montessori Method, please comment upon it here. Based upon what you now know about child development, can you think of any particular type of child for whom Montessori would not be a good fit? Are there any empirical data available to help answer this question (e.g., which children are suitable for a Montessori education)?  Do a little research on your own to see what the experts think and then form your own opinion. (Must be a minimum of 500 words)

 

 

 

Question 9

 

The question raised by Slife (2012): “Is Evolution a Good Explanation for Psychological Concepts?” debated in our course, Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Psychological Issues (Slife, 2012). Remember that a statement of the Slife (2012) question above followed by a “Yes” or “No” answer to it, depending on your assigned article perspective, should be the start of your initial post. (Must be a minimum of 400 words)

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

 

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.