5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology, 2010-2011 Edition (81 page)

77. B—
(
Chapter 16
) Behaviorists. Maladaptive behavior is learned and, therefore, can be unlearned through behavior therapy.

78. A—
(
Chapter 11
) Divergent thinking occurs with brainstorming. Many ideas are offered without censorship and creativity is usually enhanced.

79. D—
(
Chapter 14
) Stable sources of individual differences that characterize an individual, based on an interaction of nature and nurture. Eysenck characterized personality along three stable dimensions: extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.

80. D—
(
Chapter 6
) Her sample may not have been representative of the population. People who were unhappy with their children may have been more inclined to respond to the columnist than those who were happy. Participants were not randomly selected.

81. C—
(
Chapter 13
) Observation and imitation of significant role models. One learns his or her gender role, according to social learning theory, by observing parents and friends interact and then copying those behaviors that seem most rewarded.

82. E—
(
Chapter 18
) Black teenagers are superior to white teenagers. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own group (ethnic, racial, country) is superior to all others, and Aisha is likely to have similar racial pride.

83. C—
(
Chapter 8
) Von Bekesy proposed that the differences in pitch (frequency) result from stimulation of different areas of the basilar membrane.

84. D—
(
Chapter 13
) Sociocultural. Vygotsky developed a theory he called the zone of proximal distance (ZPD), which measures one’s intelligence as the difference between what someone can do with the help of others (sociocultural) and what one can do alone. His view supports the nurture side, while Piaget’s is contrastingly on the nature side of the nature-nurture controversy in cognitive development.

85. C—
(
Chapter 7
) Verbal, analytic, and mathematical processing are usually done primarily on the left side of the cerebral cortex. This side of the brain is more logical and linear in problem solving than the more creative and artistic right side of the brain, which is specialized for visual/spatial reasoning.

86. C—
(
Chapter 10
) The cognitive revision of Pavlovian classical conditioning is called the contingency model. Rescorla theorized that the predictability of the UCS following the presentation of the CS determines classical conditioning in contrast to Pavlov’s contiguity model based on timing between the appearances.

87. A—
(
Chapter 14
) Nomothetic theory analyzes personality characteristics according to universal norms of the group, in contrast to idiographic theory, which looks at the individual.

88. A—
(
Chapter 12
) Relative deprivation theory is based on a cognitive model of motivation. How Tamika perceives her situation is changed once she works with those who have even less than she does.

89. E—
(
Chapter 15
) Tests for which a person’s performance can be compared with a pilot group. The pilot group, a representative group of the population to be tested, helps to establish a baseline so that future performance of groups can be meaningfully compared and defined.

90. A—
(
Chapter 7
) Acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that causes contraction of skeletal muscles. In addition to this somatic task, it also helps regulate heart muscles, is involved in memory, and transmits messages between the brain and spinal cord. Alzheimer’s is associated with a lack of this neurotransmitter.

91. A—
(
Chapter 13
) Turning their heads toward stimuli when touched on their cheeks. This is one of a group of reflexive actions that is innate and present at birth.

92. A—
(
Chapter 6
) The correlation coefficient is a statistical measure of the degree of relatedness between two sets of data that range from a + 1 positive correlation (both increase together) to a −1 in this case, which represents a complete negative correlation (as one increases the other decreases).

93. D—
(
Chapter 8
) Electrical stimulation. Substance P is blocked by the endorphins, which are released by the electrical stimulation, thus blocking the pain sensation, according to the gate-control theory of pain.

94. A—
(
Chapter 11
) Anchoring effect. Individuals are influenced by a suggested reference point or range, particularly when uncertain what amount to give. They base their giving on the “acceptable” range provided and thus will give more when the starting value is $25 rather than the “high” amount being $25.

95. C—
(
Chapter 8
) Pressure receptors. A push is a form of mechanical energy. Mechanical energy is changed to the electrochemical energy of a neural impulse by pressure receptors of the skin.

96. E—
(
Chapter 8
) Itch. Somatosensation is the perception of skin sensations (touch), which include cold, warm, pain, and pressure.

97. B—
(
Chapter 12
) Increase in salivation. When one is aroused by a stressful situation like standing up and giving a speech in front of others, dry mouth, or a decrease in salivation, is often present.

98. A—
(
Chapter 8
) Too much curvature of the cornea and lens. In nearsightedness, light rays are focused in front of the retina, causing distant objects to appear blurry.

99. A—
(
Chapter 9
) Dissociation. According to Hilgard, a person undergoing hypnosis for pain management may feel little pain because the brain channel that registers pain is separated from channels registering the voice of the hypnotist. But a “hidden observer” can still observe his/her own pain without consciously experiencing any suffering.

100. A—
(
Chapter 6
) Meta-analysis. This approach would compare and contrast all the studies as a group and, thus, determine trends and provide a greater understanding of the entire body of research on the herb and its effects on memory.

This is a 10-point essay: 5 points are awarded for explaining at least one argument for the nature side of each of these issues and 5 points for explaining at least one argument for the nurture side of each of these.

Point 1
: Shyness (Nature)

• Kagan’s longitudinal research on inhibited children

• strong correlation between inhibited parents/grandparents and shy children

• cultural differences as a product of genetics

Point 2:
Shyness (Nurture)

• 25% of Kagan’s children changed temperament by adolescence

• collectivist societies promote modesty and shyness, respect for authority

• gender role socialization rewards females for shyness

• abused children, others with low self-esteem, or socially rejected may learn shyness

• according to Zimbardo, 50% of Americans self-report shyness

• cognitive behavioral therapy is successful in helping to overcome shyness

Point 3:
Language acquisition (Nature)

• Noam Chomsky’s “language acquisition device” in which grammar switches are turned on

• all children, including deaf children, babble at around 4 months and develop language in distinct pattern: cooing, babbling, babbling only phonemes of their language group, holophrases, telegraphic speech

• overgeneralization of grammar rules by 3 age, not influenced by formal training

• critical period hypothesis

Point 4:
Language acquisition (Nature)

• Skinner’s argument of language acquisition through shaping

• deaf speech hindered because of an inability to hear proper sounds

• all children babble 100 some phonemes at 6 months, but by 10 months they only use the phonemes found in their language group which obviously have been reinforced Whorf’s language relativity hypothesis that languages shape the way we think

• failure of isolated children (such as Genie) to develop language

Point 5:
Phenylketonuria (PKU) (Nature)

• inherited error of metabolism

• recessive gene, must have two alleles to be expressed

• high levels of phenylalanine lead to severe retardation and other problems

Point 6:
Phenylketonuria (Nature)

• screening at birth can alert adults to lack of enzyme and need to avoid phenylalanine

• diet eliminating sources of phenylalanine (such as proteins, nuts, aspartame, and legumes) prevents expression of phenylketonuria

Point 7:
Violent behavior (Nature)

• Freud’s aggression instinct which leads to violent behavior

• higher testosterone levels or low levels of serotonin may predispose violence

• Delgado’s stimulation studies

• adoption studies indicating violent children more like biological parents than adoptive parents

Point 8:
Violent behavior (Nature)

• Bandura’s social learning theory, Bobo doll studies

• correlation between violence and video game behavior

• negative consequence of violent upbringing—most abusers were abused by their parents

• receiving or expecting rewards for aggression—gang behavior and deindividuation

Point 9:
Schizophrenia (Nature)

• exposure during pregnancy to flu virus and other teratogens leads to enlarged ventricles in brain

• age of expression seems to be 17–25 for most subtypes

• dopamine hypothesis, response to antipsychotic drugs that decrease dopamine

• high probability that monozygotic twin of twin with schizophrenia will develop schizophrenia

• high incidence of schizophrenia in close relatives

Point 10:
Schizophrenia (Nature)

• diathesis-stress model requires an environmental releaser

• milder cases of schizophrenia in less stressed twins

• Vietnam veteran syndrome—right age of onset and stressor strong enough

The nature/nurture controversy has been one of the more enduring themes of psychological research. Although it used to be an either/or question of heredity or environment, now most psychologists agree with an interactionist point of view.

Jerome Kagan did some interesting longitudinal research with infants. By 3 months of age, 15–20% of children in his sample were already expressing inhibited behavior in the form of startle reactions to new stimuli. In their teens, 75% of his original group of inhibited kids were still inhibited. American parents who seem to value more extraverted behaviors were unable to change their children’s nature. Strong correlations have been found between inhibited children and parents, and grandparents as well.

Many people seem to learn shyness from abusive parenting styles, negative experiences in school, and rejection in social situations as both children and adults. Some 50% of Americans self-report shyness. Philip Zimbardo has spent much of his life conducting research and therapy for shyness. Cognitive-behavioral therapy has been successful in helping formerly shy people to learn new social skills and in reinforcing more positive self-statements.

Language acquisition has also had its nature and nurture supporters. Prominent on the nature side is linguist Noam Chomsky, who argues for a language acquisition device in the brain. He cites evidence of a progressive sequence of language acquisition from cooing, babbling, holophrases, and telegraphic speech to even overgeneralization of grammar rules unaffected by learning. Chomsky has indicated a critical period during which a child must be exposed to language for this maturational process to occur. Although B. F. Skinner would agree on the steps in the language acquisition process, he disagrees with Chomsky and believes that language is acquired through shaping and reinforcement. Although all children babble some 100 phonemes at about 6 months of age, 10 at months most are only using the phonemes of their own language, 40 some in English that have been reinforced.

Phenylketonuria or PKU is an inherited problem of metabolism. In order to be expressed, two recessive alleles for this trait must be present. Today, screening for this metabolic disorder is done at birth and the mental retardation and other problems associated with it in the past have been considerably altered. Following a restricted diet, at least until adolescence, can prevent expression of phenylketonuria. The diet eliminates proteins, nuts, and dairy products and severely restricts starches like bread and potatoes.

There are many theories on both the nature and nurture side about violent behavior. Both Freud and Lorenz believed that aggression is innate and the frustration–aggression hypothesis claims that violent behavior is a natural product of built-up frustration. High testosterone levels and lower serotonin levels have also supported a biological basis for violent behavior. Some studies have indicated that children more closely mimic their violent biological parents than their adopted parents. On the nurture side, Bandura’s social learning theory and Bobo doll studies indicate that violent behavior can be learned through modeling and imitation. Recent studies indicate that children who play violent video games are more likely to display violent behavior than those who do not play such games. Gangs who commit violent crimes reward similar behavior by their members and punish those who do not conform to these norms. Finally, in a highly aroused state, many people fall into a mob violence situation, as soccer matches and social protest marches have shown, exemplifying deindividuation.

Some psychologists also think the causes of schizophrenia are biological, whereas others think its causes are environmental. Schizophrenia is a devastating mental disorder involving delusional thinking, sensory hallucinations, and other psychotic symptoms. High levels of dopamine that can be treated with antipsychotic drugs in many cases seem to support the biological origin of this disease. Enlarged ventricles of the brain can be seen in MRIs or at autopsy. The disorder is most likely to express itself during 17- to 25-year age period. Some theorize that mothers were exposed to flu-like viruses during their second trimester and that these factors lie dormant in the brain until late adolescence. Those arguing on the nurture side cite the diathesis stress model and the double-bind situation. According to the double-bind theory, bad parenting makes the child confused about how to perceive the world. Twin studies in which one twin exhibits severe symptoms of schizophrenia and the other milder symptoms or none at all may be a result of environmental factors and stress levels—either real or perceived—that the two experience.