Douglas A. Bernstein, Louis A. Penner, Alison Clarke-Stewart, and Edward J. Roy
William S. Altman Douglas A. Bernstein
Houghton Mifflin Company
BOSTON
NEW YORK
Sponsoring Editor: Jane Potter Marketing Manager: Amy Whitaker Marketing Assistant: Samantha Abrams Senior Development Editor: Laura Hildebrand Editorial Associate: Henry Cheek
Engaging in Critical Thinking in Psychology
Many educators rhapsodize about critical thinking (although often in rather vague terms) as a desirable activity that everyone should integrate into their course work. It might be easy to dismiss critical thinking as just another educational fad. But it isn’t. Critical thinking is simply another way to describe the process psychologists use when approaching a problem. We begin by describing the behaviors or phenomena that interest us; we attempt to develop explanations for them; we develop and test hypotheses, then attempt to predict outcomes based on our explanations; and we draw conclusions based on the results. In the process, we learn a great deal about the elements of the problem, their interrelationships, and connections to familiar ideas. Some researchers have found that if you use critical thinking when you write about a topic, you’re likely to learn more and to understand the material better (Tynjälä, 1998; Wade, 1995). Pena-Shaff and Nicholls (2004) found that students better understood information when engaged in critical thinking in online discussions. And, according to Kowalski and Taylor (2004) students who engaged in critical thinking were more likely to change their initial misconceptions about psychology than those who didn’t think critically. Many different people use critical thinking in all kinds of ways. You might be familiar with a television show called Mythbusters, in which Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman use critical thinking and experimental methods to look for the truth behind urban legends and other common misconceptions (Loxton, 2005). If you’re interested in psychic phenomena, you may want to see how the James Randi Educational Foundation (at http://randi.org/) applies critical thinking to people’s claims of paranormal abilities. The exercises in this booklet present ideas, beliefs, and statements, which are linked to each chapter in Essentials of Psychology (Bernstein & Nash, 2008). You’ll be asked to evaluate these ideas, beliefs, and statements using the critical thinking method. Because we want you to concentrate on learning to think critically, we’ve provided some source material for each question. You might want to look for more information, using appropriate search engines such as PsycARTICLES® or PsycINFO®, or by working with your school’s library or tutoring staff.
Critical thinking isn’t just helpful for your school work, or for making decisions about which car to buy or how to invest your savings. It’s also a fun way to learn. Students who used critical thinking in online discussions (PenaShaff, Altman, & Stephenson, 2005) or in the classroom (Hays & Vincent, 2004) said it helped them learn better and develop their communication skills. So, when we engage in critical thinking, we learn more, deepen our understanding of what we already know, learn more effective ways to communicate with other people, and have a lot more fun in the process. We hope you’ll enjoy working on these critical thinking exercises, and that they’ll stimulate your curiosity, ingenuity, and sense of intellectual play. Be well, and enjoy!
William S. Altman, Ph.D.
Psychology and Human Services Department Broome Community College, Binghamton, NY
Tynjälä, P. (1998). Writing as a tool for constructive learning: Students’ learning experiences during an experiment. Higher Education, 36, 209–230. Wade, C. (1995). Using writing to develop and assess critical thinking. Teaching of Psychology, 22, 24–28.
Governments often enact laws to solve particular social problems or to lessen their impacts. One example is the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2002. Its purpose was to improve the quality of children’s education in the United States, and according to the Department of Education, the law is working as intended (http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml). One way in which the NCLB is supposed to help raise academic achievement is through testing, to determine whether there is actually improvement in the education of children. However, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing claims this approach has failed. You can read their statements about NCLB at (http://fairtest.org/nattest/bushtest.html). Researchers have looked at NCLB from a variety of perspectives. Smith (2005) and Johnson (2006) provide overviews of the law, its intentions, and some of its possible consequences. Others have looked at NCLB’s impacts on gifted children (Mendoza, 2006), music education (Circle, 2005), and visually impaired children (Ferrell, 2005). Use the critical thinking method outlined in your textbook to determine whether NCLB is working as intended. Be sure to look carefully at your sources to determine whether they are credible and accurate, or just someone’s opinion. The basis for critical thinking is the use of evidence. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Ferrell, K. A. (2005). The effects of NCLB. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 99, 681–683. Johnson, A. P. (2006). No child left behind: Factory models and business paradigms. Clearing House, 80(1), 34–36. Mendoza, C. (2006). Inside today’s classrooms: Teacher voices on No Child Left Behind and the education of gifted children. Roeper Review, 29, 28–31. National Center for Fair and Open Testing. (n.d.). Federally mandated testing page: NCLB. Retrieved December 29, 2007, from http://fairtest.org/nattest/bushtest.html. Smith, E. (2005). Raising standards in American schools: The case of No Child Left Behind. Journal of Education Policy, 4, 507–524. United States Department of Education. (n.d.) No Child Left Behind— ED.gov. Retrieved December 29, 2007, from http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml.
5. What conclusions are most reasonable? References: Ellenberg, J. (2002, October 2). Don’t worry about grade inflation: Why it doesn’t matter that professors give out so many A’s. Slate. Retrieved December 29, 2007, from http://www.slate.com/id/2071759/ .
Grade inflation. (2006, December 28). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 29, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/ index.php?title=Grade_inflation&oldid=96950800 . Ivy League grade inflation [Electronic version]. (2002, February 27). USA Today. Retrieved December 29, 2006, from http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/2002/02/08/ edtwof2.htm . Kohn, A. (2002). The dangerous myth of grade inflation. Chronicle of Higher Education; 49(11), pB7. Retrieved December 29, 2007, from EBSCO Academic Premier database.
ACTIVITY 1.3:
Do We Use Only 10% of Our Brains?
The famous American psychologist William James (1907) once said, “Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are damped, our drafts are checked. We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources” (p. 323). Many people believe we all have a great deal of untapped mental potential. Some think it’s based in a kind of reserve of intelligence, while others believe in paranormal abilities that have not yet been developed. Often, they’ll explain this by saying that we only use 10% of our brains. Perhaps your parents or teachers may have mentioned this to you. Creative Alternatives (Superconscious, 2007), CornerBar PR (Industry appetizers, n.d.), and other commercial sites all quote the 10% figure. Many, such as self-described psychic Uri Geller (n.d.), attribute it to Albert Einstein, while others cite Margaret Mead or other famous researchers. Anitei (n.d.) at Softpedia cites data from brain scanning studies to show that we only use about 20% of our brains when making memories. It’s worth noting that many of these organizations and individuals also provide materials or services, which they claim are designed to help you activate the slumbering part of your total potential. Many psychologists, such as Chudler (1997), call the 10% figure a myth. Several (Genovese, 2004; Radford, 2000) have sought to explain or debunk the idea that we only use 10% of our brain. Yet the belief persists despite the efforts of psychologists and psychology instructors (Standing & Huber, 2003). Could this be because it really is true?
Do we have massive untapped resources in our brains? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. What am I being asked to believe or accept? 2. What evidence is there to support the assertion? 3. Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence?
4. What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? 5. What conclusions are most reasonable? References: Anitei, S. (n.d.). We use just 20% of out brains to make memories. Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://news.softpedia.com/news/WeUse-Just-20-of-the-Brain-to-Make-Memories-52643.shtml . Chudler, E. (1997). Myths about the brain: 10 percent and counting. Retrieved September 4, 2007, from http://www.brainconnection.com/topics/?main=fa/brain-myth. Geller, U. (n.d.) Uri Geller. Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://www.urigeller.com/ lbmp_print.htm. Genovese, J. E. C. (2004). The ten percent solution. Skeptic, 10(4), 55–57. Industry appetizers: Overheard at the bar. (n.d.). CornerBar PR. Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://www.cornerbarpr.com/industryappetizers/overheard.cfm? article=1033. James, W. (1907). The energies of men [Electronic version]. Science, 25(635), 321–332. Retrieved July 20, 2007, from Classics in the History of Psychology Web site: http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/James/energies.htm. Radford, B. (2000). The ten-percent myth. Retrieved July 20, 2007 from http://snopes.com/science/stats/10percnt.htm. Standing, L. G., & Huber, H. (2003). Do psychology courses reduce beliefs in psychological myths? Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 31, 585–592. Superconscious interview with Melvin Saunders. (2007). Creative Alternatives. Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://www.mindcourse.com/interview.html .
The scientific community relies on a process called peer review (see a good ® definition and discussion of peer review in Wikipedia ) to ensure that information published in scientific journals is accurate. Yet there are still major problems associated with the peer review process, and much inaccurate or misleading material may still be published. Weiss (2005) details many sorts of scientific misconduct that may not be detected by the peer review process. The issues surrounding the effectiveness of peer review are discussed in depth by Fox (1994) and Lundberg (2002). Still, most scientists seem to feel that the peer review process is the best way to ensure scientific integrity. Use the critical thinking approach to determine whether peer review is an effective method for maintaining honesty in scientific research. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Practitioners of Reiki claim that it is a technique through which they can heal ® many physical, mental, and emotional conditions. According to Wikipedia , it was developed in Japan in the early 20th century. While Reiki masters have extolled its effectiveness (Rand, n.d.), skeptics claim that it is nothing more than quackery or fraud (Carroll, 2002). Some researchers (Rosa, Rosa, Sarner, & Barrett, 1998) have attempted to determine the effectiveness of Reiki. Is Reiki a real phenomenon, or are the skeptics correct? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Carroll, R. T. (2002). Reiki. In The Skeptic’s Dictionary. Retrieved January 13, 2007 from http://skepdic.com/reiki.html . Rand, W. L. (n.d.). The international center for Reiki training. In The International Center for Reiki Training Web site. Retrieved January 13, 2007, from http://www.reiki.org. Reiki. (2006, November 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 13, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiki. Rosa, L., Rosa, E., Sarner, L., & Barrett, S. (1998). A close look at therapeutic touch. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 279, 1005–1010.
a relationship between the phase of the moon and the level of violence or strangeness of the homicides. Further confirmation of a relationship between lunar cycle and insanity comes from Blackman and Catalina (1973) who correlated the phase of the moon with the number of admissions to a mental health center emergency room. Other researchers dismiss the influence of the moon on such phenomena. Campbell and Beets (1978) found no relationship between the phase of the moon and the number of psychiatric hospital admissions, suicides, or homicides. They suggest that any findings to the contrary are a particular type of statistical error. This echoes the findings of Walters, Markeley, and Tiffany (1975), who studied the relationship between lunar phases and the number of emergency contacts to a community mental health facility. A meta-analysis of 37 studies (Rotton & Kelly, 1985) also refuted the supposed link between madness and the moon, attributing any links to various errors on the parts of some other researchers. Similar findings were reported more recently by Owens and McGowan (2006). However, in an article looking at both the positive and negative findings of various researchers in this area, Vines (2001) posits a possible explanation that might link the phase of the moon to human behavior, taking social and historical technological change into account, along with data on human biorhythms. Does the moon influence human behavior? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Owens, M., & McGowan, I. W. (2006). Madness and the moon: The lunar cycle and psychopathology. German Journal of Psychiatry, 9(1), 123-127. Rotton, J., & Kelly, I. W. (1985). Much ado about the full moon: A metaanalysis of lunar-lunacy research. Psychological Bulletin, 97, 286– 306. Sims, P. (2007, June 7). British cops shine light on late-night lunacy. The Courier Mail. Retrieved on 4 September, 2007, from http://www.news.com.au/story/ 0,23599,21864175-13762,00.html . Tasso, J., & Miller, E. (1976). The effects of the full moon on human behavior. The Journal of Psychology, 93, 81–83. Townley, J. (1997). Can the full moon affect human behavior [Electronic version]? In J. Townley Dynamic Astrology: Using Planetary Cycles to Make Personal and Career Choices. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books. Retrieved on July 23, 2007, from http://www.innerself.com/Astrology/full_moon.htm. Vines, G. (2001, June 23). Blame it on the moonlight [Electronic copy]. New Scientist, 170(2296), 36–39. Retrieved July 23, 2007, from EBSCO Academic Premier database. Walters, E., Markley, R. P., & Tiffany, D. W. (1975). Lunacy: A type I error? Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 84, 715–717.
What is the source of morality? Recently, some scholars have suggested that morality is not something learned, but is inherent in the biological structure of the brain (Broom, 2006). Others believe it is something that is not at all connected to biology, but to other factors such as identity (Hardy & Carlo, 2005), parental influence (White & Matawie, 2004), and temperament (Kagan, 2005). Some psychologists (Flack & de Waal, 2000; Loye, 2002) look at the evolutionary basis of morality, as well. Use the critical thinking approach to determine whether morality is biologically based and a result of the evolution of the brain. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
White, F. A. & Matawie, K. M. (2004). Parental morality and family processes as predictors of adolescent morality. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 13, 219–233.
ACTIVITY 3.2:
The Age of Responsibility
The psychologist G. Stanley Hall linked adolescence to all sorts of social problems (Hall, 1904). Little seems to have changed in over 100 years— current newspapers and magazines are constantly bombarding us with information about the terrible nature of adolescents. They tell us that teenagers all over the world are violent, evil people who will kill or hurt others on impulse (Arinde, 2006; Larimer, 2000). They’re responsible for all sorts of crime; the tide of adolescent viciousness is rising. Steinberg and Scott (2003) argue that adolescents should not be held responsible for murder or other similar infractions, as their brains have not yet reached maturity. Beckman (2004) provides a good overview of some of the issues involved. Others posit that the relative immaturity of the adolescent is not the causal factor in such crimes. They mention factors such as parental levels of morality (White & Matawie, 2004), depression (Ritakallio, Kaltiala-Heino, Kivivuori, Luukkaala, & RimpelÄ, 2006), and community violence (Patchin, Huebner, McClusky, Varano, & Bynum, 2006). Use the critical thinking approach to determine whether Steinberg and Scott are correct in stating that adolescents should not be held to the same degree of responsibility for their immoral actions as adults. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Larimer, T. (2000, August 28). Natural-born killers? Time, 156(9), 37. Patchin, J. W., Huebner, B. M., McClusky, J. D., Varano, S. P., & Bynum, T. S. (2006). Exposure to community violence and childhood delinquency. Crime & Delinquency, 52, 307–332. Ritakallio, M., Kaltiala-Heino, R., Kivivuori, J., Luukkaala, T., & RimpelÄ, M. (2006). Delinquency and the profile of offences among depressed and non-depressed adolescents. Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health, 16, 100–110. Steinberg, L. & Scott, E. S. (2003). Less guilty by reason of adolescence: Developmental immaturity, diminished responsibility, and the juvenile death penalty. American Psychologist, 58, 1009–1018. White, F. A. & Matawie, K. M. (2004). Parental morality and family processes as predictors of adolescent morality. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 13, 219–233.
5. What conclusions are most reasonable? References: Byne, W., Bleier, R., & Houston, L. (1988). Variations in human corpus callosum do not predict gender: A study using magnetic resonance imaging. Behavioral Neuroscience, 102, 222–227. Committee on Women Faculty in the School of Science. (1999). A study on the status of women faculty in science at MIT: How a committee on women faculty came to be established by the dean of the School of Science, what the committee and the dean learned and accomplished, and recommendations for the future. Retrieved December 29, 2006, from MIT Web site: http://web.mit.edu/fnl/women/women.pdf. Hines, M., Chiu, L., McAdams, L. A., Bentler, P. M. & Lipcamon, J. (1992). Cognition and the corpus callosum: Verbal fluency, visuospatial ability, and language lateralization related to midsagittal surface areas of callosal subregions. Behavioral Neuroscience, 106, 3–14. Lorence, J. (2001). A test of “gender” and “job” models of sex differences in job involvement. Social Forces, 66, 121–142. Roger, A. & Duffield, J. (2000). Factors underlying persistent gendered option choices in school science and technology in Scotland. Gender & Education, 12, 367–383. Summers, L. H. (2005). Letter from President Summers on women and science. Retrieved December 29, 2006, from Harvard University, Office of the President Web site: http://www.president.harvard.edu/speeches/2005/womensci.html.
Apple’s iPod™ and other music players have become incredibly popular. Wired Magazine reports that despite the fact that Microsoft manufactures a competing product, the iPod is wildly popular on the Microsoft campus, much to the annoyance of Microsoft founder Bill Gates (Kahney, 2005). Even colleges and universities are using iPods to disseminate information to students and others, and for use in student projects (Brandeis, 2005; Broome, 2007; Martin, 2007). And yet, many researchers (Geiger, 2006; Moore, 2006; Shafer, 2006) warn that using the iPod may damage your hearing. This may be due to of the design of the earbuds (Keizer, 2005) or the volumes at which people listen (Hitti, 2006). In fact, a class-action suit regarding this has been filed against Apple (Keizer, 2006). Are these worries overblown? Would colleges and universities promote the use of a technology that causes relatively permanent harm to its users? Is the iPod dangerous? Have your experiences with iPods been good or bad? Do you see valid points on both sides? Use the critical thinking method to evaluate the evidence and decide if the iPod is dangerous. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
index.html. Broome Community College. (2007). About BCC on iTunes U. Retrieved on July 23, 2007, from Broome Community College Web site: http://itunes.sunybroome.edu/ overview.php. Geiger, D. (2006). When modern life pumps up the volume, give your ears some TLC. Retrieved on July 23, 2007, from CNN.com Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2007/ HEALTH/04/10/healthmag.hearing/ . Hitti, M. (2006, March 16). Teens’ MP3 habits may up hearing loss: Adults listen longer, but teens turn the volume up higher. Retrieved on July 23, 2007, from WebMD Medical News Web site: http://www.webmd.com/news/20060316/ teens-mp3-habits-may-up-hearing-loss. Kahney, L. (2005, February 2). Hide your iPod, here comes Bill. Retrieved on July 23, 2007, from Wired Magazine Web site: http://www.wired.com/print/gadgets/mac/ commentary/cultofmac/2005/02/66460. Keizer, G. (2005, December 19). Eh? iPod earbuds can cause hearing loss. Retrieved on July 23, 2007, from Information Week Web site: http://www.informationweek.com/story/ showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175006733. Keizer, G. (2006, February 2). Apple hit with iPod hearing loss lawsuit. Retrieved on July 23, 2007, from Information Week Web site: http://www.informationweek.com/story/ showArticle.jhtml?articleID=178601009 . Martin, N. (2007, May 25). iPod study plants seeds of change. Retrieved on July 23, 2007, from Texas Tech Today Web site: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/communications/news/stories/ 07-05-food-safety-ipod.php. Moore, M. (2006). Hispanics may face higher risk for hearing loss from iPods, other MP3 players. ASHA Leader, 11(17), 3,17. Shafer, D. N. (2006). Noise-induced hearing loss hits teens. ASHA Leader, 11(5), 1, 27.
do. Many people believe that when someone has an impaired sense, such as sight, they can compensate by developing more sensitivity in one of their other senses. For example, it is often said that blind people have more sensitive hearing than sighted people. Locke, Voltaire, and other philosophers subscribed to that theory, and many of us might want to believe it; it has a certain ring of fairness to it—a loss in one part of a person’s life is compensated by a gain in another. Many psychologists consider this sort of compensation a myth, citing such concepts as the all-or-nothing principle (recall the discussion of action potentials and the firing of neurons in your textbook, Bernstein, Penner, Clarke-Stewart, & Roy, 2008) which states that neurons either fire or don’t fire, but cannot fire by degrees. They also point out that the physical structures of hearing (pinnae, tympanic membrane, bones of the middle ear, etc.) are the same for blind and sighted individuals (see the diagram in your book, Bernstein et al., 2008, p. 114). However, other psychologists have looked at the plasticity of the brain, which suggests that compensation might be possible (recall the discussion of plasticity in Bernstein, et al., 2008). Sahlman and Koper (1992) found that blind individuals detected lies with far greater accuracy than sighted individuals. Furthermore, people who lost their sight early in life had a greater ability to locate the sources of sounds than sighted individuals (Lessard, Paré, Lepore, & Lassonde, 1998). These results were echoed by Voss, Lassonde, Gougoux, Fortin, Guillemot, and Lepore (2004), who posited that this greater ability might be due to early reorganization of the cortex, a theory supported by the work of Rauschecker and Korte (1993), who found such reorganization in the brains of cats. Yet other researchers (Morgan, 1999; Zwiers, Van Opstal, & Cruysberg, 2001) point out numerous flaws in such experiments. Do blind people compensate for their lack of sight by developing better hearing? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Bernstein, D. A., Penner, L. A., Clarke-Stewart, A., & Roy, E. J. (2008). Psychology (8th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Lessard, N., Paré, M., Lepore, F., & Lassonde, M. (1998). Early-blind human subjects localize sound sources better than sighted subjects. Nature, 395(6699), 278–280. Morgan, M. (1999). Sensory perception: Supernormal hearing in the blind? Current Biology, 9, 53–54. Rauschecker, J. P., & Korte, M. (1993). Auditory compensation for early blindness in cat cerebral cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 13, 4538– 4548. Sahlman, J. M., & Koper, R. J. (1992, May). Do you hear what I hear?: Deception detection by the blind. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Miami, FL. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EC301405. Voss, P., Lassonde, M., Gougoux, F., Fortin, M., Guillemot, J.-P., & Lepore, F. (2004). Early- and late-onset blind individuals show supra-normal auditory abilities in far-space. Current Biology, 14, 1734–1738. Zwiers, M. P., Van Opstal, A. J., & Cruysberg, J. R. M. (2001). A spatial hearing deficit in early-blind humans. Journal of Neuroscience, 21(9), 1–5.
ACTIVITY 4.3:
How Do You Know You Won’t Like It, If You Don’t Try a Little?
Is this a real effect, or is something else going on? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion about whether preconceptions change our sensory experiences. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Friedman, H. H., & Fireworker, R. B. (1977). The susceptibility of consumers to unseen group influences. Journal of Social Psychology, 102, 155–156. Lee, L., Frederick, S., & Ariely, D. (2006). Try it, you=11 like it: The influence of expectation, consumption, and revelation on preferences for beer. Psychological Science, 17, 1054–1058.
Payne, C., & Wansink, B. (2007). How wine expectations influence meal evaluations and consumption. FASEB Journal, 21(5), 327. Prescott, J., & Young, A. (2002). Does information about MSG (monosodium glutamate) content influence consumer ratings of soups with and without added MSG? Appetite, 39(1), 25–33. Rozin, P., & Fallon, A. (1987). A perspective on disgust. Psychological Review, 94, 23–41. Rozin, P., Fallon, A., & Augustoni-Ziskind, M. (1985). The child’s conception of food: The development of contamination sensitivity to “disgusting” substances. Developmental Psychology, 21, 1075–1079. Wansink, B., Payne, C., & North, J. (2007). Fine as North Dakota wine: Sensory expectations and the intake of companion foods. FASEB Journal, 21(5), 329.
Have you ever watched someone driving while talking on a cell phone, drinking a cup of coffee, and chatting with people in their car? Have you ever tried to study while also watching television, listening to something on your MP3 player, snacking, checking your e-mail, and talking to someone on the telephone? Many people believe that doing many things at once is far more efficient than doing one thing at a time. Articles in the popular press and some industry journals tell us that multitasking is not only necessary and useful (Booth, 2004; Overholt, 2002), but that it can enhance our working lives (Cook, 2005). Others talk about the dangers of multitasking in terms of driving safety (Peters & Peters, 2002), productivity (Davidson, 2006), and learning (Baddeley, Lewis, Eldridge, & Thomson, 1984; Blume, 2001). Still others (Greenwald, 2004; Wasson, 2004) discuss potentially good and bad aspects of the behavior. Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion about the utility of multitasking. Does it help people become more effective and efficient? Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Cook, P. (2005). Women in the workplace. Chemistry & Industry, 1, 12–13. Davidson, J. (2006). Why multitasking backfires. Associations Now, 2(6), 14. Greenwald, A. G. (2004). On doing two things at once: IV. Necessary and sufficient conditions: Rejoinder to Lien, Proctor, and Ruthruff (2003). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 30, 632–636. Overholt, A. (2002). The art of multitasking. Fast Company, 63, 118–125. Peters, G. A., & Peters, B. J. (2002). The distracted driver: How dangerous is “multitasking”? Professional Safety, 47(3), 34–40. Wasson, C. (2004). Multitasking during virtual meetings. Human Resource Planning, 27(4), 47–60.
ACTIVITY 5.2:
Racial Profiling and National Security
In recent years, there has been a major thrust to identify and capture suspected terrorists before they can do any harm to the public. Newspaper columnists such as Nicolas Kristof (2002) have called for racial profiling to assist in this effort. Yet as both the New York Times (“The New Airport Profiling,” 2003) and Newsweek (Begley et al., 2001) note, profiling may not be a successful strategy. Yetman (2004) seems to argue that profiling may be helpful, and that it will occur, in any case. Grimland, Apter, and Kerkhof (2006) argue that the number of factors influencing suicide bombers suggests that they cannot be profiled successfully. Complicating this debate is America’s stated support for equality and the possible conflict between profiling and the civil liberties of the targeted people. Is the use of racial or ethnic profiling effective in identifying possible terrorists? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Underhill, W. (2001, October 1). As America vows ‘never again,’ it is launching a series of antiterrorism measures—from ethnic profiling to snooping through your personal e-mail. Newsweek, 138(14), 58–62. Grimland, M., Apter, A., & Kerkhof, A. (2006). The phenomenon of suicide bombing: A review of psychological and nonpsychological factors. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 27(3), 107–118. Kristof, N. D. (2002, May 31). Liberal reality check: When racial profiling works [Editorial]. New York Times, 151(52135), p. A25. The New Airport Profiling. (2003, March 11). [Editorial]. New York Times, 152(52419), p. A28. Yetman, J. (2004). Suicidal terrorism and discriminatory screening: An efficiency-equity trade-off. Defence and Peace Economics, 15, 221– 230.
Shevilske, & Lundgren, 1993), and physical beauty (Maner et al., 2003) might have considerably more influence on possible romantic feelings. Robert Baron (1987) even found evidence for the influence of negatively charged ions in the environment. What is the truth? Is transferred excitation as influential in stirring romance as some might suggest? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. What am I being asked to believe or accept? 2. What evidence is there to support the assertion? 3. Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence?
According to the dictionary (Hypnopedia, 1987), hypnopædia is “A method of teaching in which information heard while the learner is asleep is supposed to be retained (p. 831).” The term was first used by Aldous Huxley (1932) in his novel Brave New World. Imagine learning everything you need to know for this psychology course by hearing recordings of the textbook and accounts of exciting experiments read to you each night by Dr. Bernstein. Each morning, you would awaken with a new store of information, which you would be able to use on later examinations, and later in life as you need to solve psychologically based problems. It sounds too good to be true. Is it? Almost as soon as the idea was issued, psychologists became interested in testing it. Leshan (1942) found that hypnopædia helped people stop biting their nails. Some researchers (Fox & Robbin, 1952) reported that subjects actually learned information during sleep. Other researchers (Simon & Emmons, 1955; Simon & Emmons, 1956) determined that any learning actually took place during a waking state, not during actual sleep. In his review of the literature on hypnopædia, Aarons (1976) found several anomalies in the various studies which might have accounted for the differing results and called for more controlled experimentation. The debate is still raging. Is hypnopædia effective? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
40. Fox, B. H. & Robbin, J. S. (1952). The retention of material presented during sleep. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 43, 75–79. Huxley, A. (1932). Brave New World, London: Chatto & Windus. Hypnopedia. (1987). In The American Heritage Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Leshan, L. (1942). The breaking of a habit by suggestion during sleep. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 37, 406–408. Simon, C. W., & Emmons, W. H. (1955). Learning during sleep? Psychological Bulletin, 52, 328–342. Simon, C. W., & Emmons, W. H. (1956). Responses to material presented during various levels of sleep. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 51, 89–97.
References: Ballance, C.T. (1977). Students’ expectations and their answer-changing behavior. Psychological Reports, 41, 163–166. Dummies.com. (n.d.). Discovering test taking strategies for the GED. Retrieved on January 15, 2007, from http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/ id-1753,subcat-TESTPREP.html?print=true. Fat Campus Test Taking Strategies. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2007, from http:// fatcampus.com/test.htm. Frederickson, C.G. (1999). Multiple-choice answer changing: A type connection? Journal of Psychological Type, 51, 40–46. Mathews, C.O. (1929). Erroneous first impressions on objective tests Journal of Educational Psychology, 20, 280–286. McMorris, R.F. & Weideman, A.H. (1986). Answer changing after instruction on answer changing. Measurement & Evaluation in Counseling & Development, 19, 93–101. Reile, P. J. (1952). Should students change their initial answers on objective-type tests? More evidence regarding an old problem. Journal of Educational Psychology, 43, 110–115. Reiling, E. & Taylor, R. (1972). A new approach to the problem of changing initial responses to multiple choice questions. Journal of Educational Measurement, 9, 67–70. Test Taking Strategy from the Editors at Campus Expert. (n.d.) Retrieved January 15, 2007, from http://www.campusexpert.com/test.htm . Vispoel, W. P. (2000). Reviewing and changing answers on computerized fixed-item vocabulary tests. Educational & Psychological Measurement, 60, 371–384.
by being able to access a world of information on the Internet; will learn to communicate better by using e-mail and instant messaging, and will become more equitable and cooperative. Others believe that computers may not be as useful or helpful as some might hope, either because they are less suitable for educational tasks (Attewell, Belkis, & Battle, 2003; Cunningham & Stanovich, 1990; Toppo, 2006), because they will not be properly adopted by educators (Reynolds, Treharne, & Tripp, 2003), or because they will not be accessible to children outside of school (Selwyn & Bullon, 2000). Some feel that computer use will discourage students from learning, from paying attention in class and from interacting with people; that computer use may not be as effective as other teaching methods; and that using computers in school may harm students socially and physically. Even early researchers noted that there were major issues to be resolved before allowing computers to become part of children’s daily life in school (Lepper, 1985). What do you think? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion about whether computers are beneficial in the classroom. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
American Psychologist, 40, 1–18. Reynolds, D., Treharne, D., & Tripp, H. (2003). ICT–the hopes and the reality. British Journal of Educational Technology, 34, 151–167. Selwyn, N. & Bullon, K. (2000). Primary school children’s use of ICT. British Journal of Educational Technology, 31, 321–332. Toppo, G. (2006, April 11). Computers may not boost student achievement. USA Today, 08d.
For many years, people have believed that eating fish will help make you smarter and improve your memory, referring to fish as “brain food” (Calon et al., 2004; Kirchheimer, 2004; Marano, 2004; Warner, 2004). Yet some researchers note that eating fish may cause memory problems (Schantz et al., 2001). Can you improve your memory by eating more fish or by taking supplements that contain fish oil or other fish byproducts? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Calon, F., Lim, G. P., Yang, F., Morihara, T., Teter, B., Ubeda, O., Rostaing, P., Triller, A., Salem, N., Ashe, K. H., Frautschy, S. A., & Cole, G. M. (2004). Docosahexaenoic acid protects from dendritic pathology in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model. Neuron, 43, 633–645. Kirchheimer, S. (2004, September 1). Why fish seems to prevent Alzheimer’s damage: Study shows DHA in omega-3 fatty acid lowers Alzheimer’s disease risk. WebMD Medical News. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/93/102368.htm . Marano, H. E. (2004, March 16). FoodnMood: Save your brain. Psychology Today. Retrieved January 13, 2007, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/ pto-20040316–000006.html .
Schantz, S. L., Gassior, D. M., Polverejan, E., McCaffrey, R. J., Sweeney, A. M., Humphrey, H. E. B., & Gardiner, J. C. (2001). Impairments of memory and learning in older adults exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls via consumption of Great Lakes fish. Environmental Health Perspectives, 109, 605–611. Warner, J. (2004). Fish may protect brain from effects of aging: Fatty fish may help prevent Alzheimer’s, but other fats raise risks. WebMD Medical News. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/80/96450.htm .
ACTIVITY 7.2:
Cramming for Success
One constant from grade school through post-graduate study is that students take many tests. To pass them, you may have to learn a lot of information in a very short time. That’s not easy. Because there are many demands on a student’s time, one strategy people may use is cramming. This means that they study everything they need to know on the day before a test, so that it’s fresh in their minds when they have to take the exam. In fact, they may study all night and into the next day in order to read everything, usually using a rote memorization strategy. They may also use specialized tools, such as flash cards or other study aids. In some cases, this works well. Smart crammers may pass their examinations (Martel & Hemphill, 1996; Tigner, 1999). Others say it does not work under most circumstances (Tigner, 1999). Miller’s (1956) work on the limits of memory capacity may have some bearing. Some researchers report mixed results (Romano, Wallace, Helmick, Carey, & Adkins, 2005). Researchers looking at long-term retention imply that distributed practice, or spaced learning, tends to yield much better results (Conway, Cohen, & Stanhope, 1992). So, is cramming a good strategy for learning? Will people who cram for examinations be able to retain the information and use it in productive ways? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
for knowledge acquired at school and university. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 6, 467–482. Martel, J. & Hemphill, S. (1996, October 17). Getting ahead: Upgrade now! Rolling Stone, 745, p. 113–116. Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63, 81–97. Romano, J., Wallace, T. L., Helmick, I. J., Carey, L. M., & Adkins, L. (2005). Study procrastination, achievement, and academic motivation in web-based and blended distance learning. Internet & Higher Education, 8, 299–305.
ACTIVITY 7.3:
A Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body
In 2001, Newsweek magazine reported that keeping physically fit helps us stay mentally fit (Adler, Raymond, & Underwood, 2001). To this end, many people recommend lifelong sports such as hiking, golf, or tennis that can be played well into old age (Brainy Hikers, 2005). They believe that by engaging in these sports, you challenge yourself to think and remember things in ways that promote good long-term memory and problem solving ability. However, not all sports are helpful to all people. Christensen and Mackinnon (1993) note that certain types of physical activity were linked to certain types of memory gains and task performance. Slosman and colleagues (2004) report on the effects of scuba diving on memory, for example. Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion about whether engaging in lifelong sports will help you retain your long-term memory. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Christensen, H., & Mackinnon, A. (1993). The association between mental, social and physical activity and cognitive performance in young and old subjects. Age and Ageing, 22, 175–182.
Slosman, D. O., de Ribaupierre, S., Chicheriao, C., Ludwig, C., Montandon, M.-L., Allaoua, M., Genton, L., Pichard, C., Grousset, A., Mayer, E., Annoni, J.-M., & de Ribaupierre, A. (2004). Negative neurofunctional effects of frequency, depth and environment in recreational scuba diving: The Geneva “memory dive” study. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 38, 108–114.
Many parents and teachers believe that children’s stories should contain simple language, appropriate to the level of a beginning reader. They feel that if a child encounters too many difficult or unfamiliar words, the child will become discouraged and will not want to read. This was the idea behind basal readers, many of which are simplified versions of other stories. In fact, after an extensive review of the available basal readers, Hill (1997) described basal readers as excellent resources for learning language at an accessible level. Farr (1988) also extols the value of the basal readers. Ohanian (1987), however, feels that children benefit from more complex words and syntactic structures, and that children’s stories should contain more intriguing words and sentences. Sakari (1996) analyzed basal versions of children’s stories to see how well their original meanings came through. Other teaching methods have also been compared to the use of basal readers by several researchers (Popplewell & Doty, 2001). Do you believe that children’s books should be written at an extremely simple level? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Hill, D. R. (1997, May 23). Graded (basal) readers—choosing the best. The Language Teacher Online. Retrieved from http://www.jaltpublications.org/tlt/files/97/may/ choosing.html . Ohanian, S. (1987, September). Ruffles and flourishes. The Atlantic Monthly, 260(3), 20–21. Sakari, M. D. (1996). Altering trade books to “fit” literature-based basals. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED396239).
ACTIVITY 8.2:
It’s Just Going Around Right Now
Diagnosing an illness is a form of problem solving. If you watch any episode of the show House (e.g. House’s New Staff, n.d.), you’ll see Dr. Gregory House and his team use differential diagnoses to determine the particular diseases or conditions of their patients. Doctors do this by listing every disease or condition that explains a patient’s symptoms, and then trying to figure out which particular condition she has through a process of elimination. They are trained to do this in medical school, much as clinical psychologists are in their graduate programs. In fact, differential diagnosis is a good example of critical thinking. Of course, doctors are human, and often take cognitive shortcuts rather than engaging in the entire process of differential diagnosis. After all, they’re experts, and their experience should help them cut through a lot of the tedium of working through such a long and involved process. Researchers suggest that experts use such shortcuts because of their superior knowledge base and experience at solving particular kinds of problems, and that these shortcuts help them make faster, better decisions (Davidson, 2003; Zimmerman & Campillo, 2003). Have you ever gone to the doctor and after describing your symptoms been told that you have the flu, even though the doctor didn’t examine you or run any tests? Perhaps your doctor had already seen 20 or 30 other people with these symptoms, so she formed a mental set to use as a shortcut. (You might want to review the discussion of the mental set in Bernstein, Penner, Clarke-Stewart, & Roy, 2008.) However, most viral infections have the same symptoms, so you might have had a much more serious condition. Without a full differential diagnosis, you might not know that you’ve contracted anthrax until it’s too late. Examples of errors caused by mental set in medicine abound (Basnyat, 2002; Cathebras, 2002; Kerr, 2004; Verheugt, 2002), and have been studied by medical professionals (Graber, Franklin, & Gordon, 2005) in an attempt to identify their causes and come up with possible solutions.
Is this really a problem? Are the heuristic shortcuts that doctors use good because they make diagnoses and treatments more efficient, or are they shortcuts to disaster? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Basnyat, B. (2002). Uses of error: A developing country perspective. The Lancet, 359, 2026. Bernstein, D. A., Penner, L. A., Clarke-Stewart, A., & Roy, E. J. (2008). Psychology (8th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Cathebras, P. (2002). Uses of error: Cure. The Lancet, 359, 2273. Davidson, J. E. (2003). Insights about insightful problem solving. In J. E. Davidson & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.) The psychology of problem solving (pp. 149–175). New York: Cambridge University Press. Graber, M. L., Franklin, N., & Gordon, R. (2005). Diagnostic error in internal medicine. Archives of Internal Medicine, 165, 1493–1499. House’s new staff. (n.d.) Retrieved on July 27, 2007, from YouTube.com: http://youtube.com/watch?v=GsXXd_8RsSg. Kerr, D. J. (2004). Two errors. The Lancet, 364, 907. Verheugt, F. W. A. (2002). Uses of error: Who is to blame? The Lancet, 360, 789. Zimmerman, B. J., & Campillo, M. (2003). Motivating self-regulated problem solvers. In J. E. Davidson & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.) The psychology of problem solving (pp. 233–262). New York: Cambridge University Press.
ACTIVITY 8.3:
Talent Might Stop You from Being Really Good at Something
to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Ericsson, K. A., & Charness, N. (1994). Expert performance: Its structure and acquisition. American Psychologist, 49, 725–747. Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100, 363–406. Feldman, D. H. (1993). Child prodigies: A distinctive form of giftedness. Gifted Child Quarterly, 37(4), 188–193. From the top. (n.d.). Retrieved on July 26, 2007, from http://www.fromthetop.org/ .
Galton, F. (1865). Hereditary talent and character [Electronic version]. Macmillan’s Magazine, 12, 157-166, 318-327. Retrieved on July 28, 2007, from Classics in the History of Psychology Web site: http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Galton/talent.htm. Helmbold, N., Rammsayer, T., & Altenmüller, E. (2005). Differences in primary mental abilities between musicians and nonmusicians. Journal of Individual Differences, 26(2), 74–85. List of child prodigies. (2007). In Wikipedia. Retrieved on July 26, 2997 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_child_prodigies . Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2000). States of excellence. American Psychologist, 55, 137–150. Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2001). Choosing excellence. American Psychologist, 565, 76–77. Lubinski, D., Webb, R. M., Morelock, M. J., & Benbow, C. P. (2001). Top 1 in 10,000: A 10-year follow-up of the profoundly gifted. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 718–729. Plucker, J. A., & Levy, J. J. (2001). The downside of being talented. American Psychologist, 56, 75–76. Sternberg, R. (2001). Giftedness as developing expertise: A theory of the interface between high abilities and achieved excellence. High Ability Studies, 12(2), 160–179. Winner, E. (2000). The origins and ends of giftedness. American Psychologist, 55, 159–169.
References: Barron, J. (2006, November 1). Houdini declines comment, but not for want of trying. New York Times, 156(53750), p. B2. Miller, K. (1998, June). Psychics: Science or seance? A reporter visits the twilight zone. Life, 21(7), 80–87. Randi, J. (n.d.) James Randi Educational Foundation. Retrieved January 30, 2007 from http://randi.org/. Séance. (1999). The seance. Skeptic, 7(3), 100–101. Siegel, R. K. (1980). The psychology of life after death. American Psychologist, 35, 911–931. Stanford, P. (2002, April 8). Knock, knock. Who’s there? A dead man’s spirit. New Statesman, 131(4582), 32–33. Stevenson, I. (1981). Comments on “The psychology of life after death.” American Psychologist, 36, 1459–1461. Wiseman, R., Greening, E., & Smith, M. (2003). Belief in the paranormal and suggestion in the seance room. British Journal of Psychology, 94, 285–297. Yu, T., Holmes, A., Wren, J., Davis, C., Doman, J., Fleeman, M., Jones, O., Jordan, J., Labossiere, R., Nolan, C., Paley, R., Stein, E., Stueven, M., & Warrick, P. (2003, February 24). Mediums rare: In search of Diana. People, 59(7), 20.
What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Blagrove, M., French, C., & Jones, G. (2005). Probabilistic reasoning, affirmative bias and belief in precognitive dreams. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20, 65–83. Eisenbud, J. (1954). Behavioral correspondences to normally unpredictable future events. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 23, 205–233. Houran, J., & Lange, R. (1998). Modeling precognitive dreams as meaningful coincidences. Psychological Reports, 83, 1411–1414. Krippner, S. (1969). The paranormal dream and man’s pliable future. Psychoanalytic Review, 56, 28–43. Krippner, S. (1975). Dreams and other altered conscious states. Journal of Communication, 25, 173–182. Randi, J. (2006). Dreams. In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural. Retrieved February 1, 2007, from http://www.randi.org/ encyclopedia/dreams.html.
Foundation at (http://www.sleepfoundation.org/). Does sleep deprivation cause long-term brain damage? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Bernstein, D. A., & Nash, P. W. (2008). Essentials of Psychology (4th ed.). New York: Houghton Mifflin. Blagrove, M., Alexander, C., & Horne, J. A. (1995). The effects of chronic sleep reduction on the performance of cognitive tasks sensitive to sleep deprivation. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 9, 21–40. Horne, J. A. (1978). A review of the biological effects of total sleep deprivation in man. Biological Psychology, 7, 55–102. Miró, E., Cano, C., and Buela-Casal, G. (2002). Effects of total sleep deprivation on cardiovascular parameters: An absence of biologically significant findings? Journal of Psychophysiology, 16, 119–126.
ACTIVITY 10.1: Jumbo Intelligence What is intelligence? Is it possible that other species are as intelligent as human beings? Research on apes, monkeys, dolphins, dogs, and birds has been going on for many years. Recently, some researchers have posited that elephants may be extremely intelligent. For instance, Nissani (2006) looked at whether elephants seem to use causal reasoning in working with tools. Plotnik, de Waal, and Reiss (2006) investigated whether elephants can successfully recognize themselves in mirrors. In terms of social knowledge, McComb, Moss, Durant, Baker, and Sayialel (2001) reported on the abilities of older female elephants, and Slotow, van Dyk, Poole, Page, and Klocke (2000) studied the possible influence of older male elephants on younger males. Remember, intelligence is more than the simple ability to learn tricks. It may involve self-recognition and the ability to understand that another creature may think different thoughts than you do. Do elephants think in ways that we might consider intelligent? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Plotnik, J. M., de Waal, F. B., and Reiss, D. (2006). Self-recognition in an Asian Elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, 103, 17053–17057.
Slotow, R., van Dyk, G., Poole, J., Page, B., & Klocke, A. (2000). Older bull elephants control young males. Nature, 408, 425–426.
ACTIVITY 10.2: IQ Test Bias Psychologists have been trying to measure intelligence for many years. Early attempts focused on the shape or size of the head, the weight of the brain, or the speed with which a person could perform certain tasks. Modern intelligence tests use more sophisticated methods, but of course, it is difficult to measure something that isn’t physical, so the results may be questionable. Some people believe that modern intelligence tests and college entrance examinations are biased against certain groups of people, women, for example (Sex and intelligence, 2007). If so, this is a serious problem. Feingold (1988) reported that such gaps were disappearing, and Cole (1997) reported that the gap in mathematics scores were small, although women still outscored men on tests of writing and language. Leonard and Jiang (1999) discussed the under-representation of women in college due to under-prediction of their abilities by the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT). Mau and Lynn (2001) note that although men generally get higher scores on the SAT and ACT, women actually get higher grades in their college courses. In looking at possible reasons for a gap in scores, Kimball (1989) proposed that males might score higher on tests given in novel situations, while females might have an advantage in familiar settings, such as their normal classrooms. Duckworth and Seligman (2006) suggest that the actual difference may be that females are more self-disciplined than males, and that this is of more value in classroom work than on standardized tests. So, who’s correct? Are these tests biased against women? There seems to be a lot of evidence on both sides. Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Self-discipline gives girls the edge: Gender in self-discipline, grades, and achievement test scores. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 198–208. Feingold, A. (1988). Cognitive gender differences are disappearing. American Psychologist, 43, 95–103. Kimball, M. M. (1989). A new perspective on women’s math achievement. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 198–214. Leonard, D. K., & Jiang, J. (1999). Gender bias and the college predictions of the SATs: A cry of despair. Research in Higher Education, 40, 375– 407. Mau, W.-C., & Lynn, R. (2001). Gender differences on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the American College Test, and college grades. Educational Psychology, 21, 133–136. Sex and intelligence. (2007). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 13, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_intelligence .
self-esteem in children and adolescents will generate many excellent outcomes, but the picture is not all that clear. Shaw (1994) states that selfesteem actually has little or no impact on student success, noting that students’ self-esteem scores have been rising steadily, but that student achievement has been falling. Other researchers (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger, & Vohs, 2003, 2005) note that the posited relationship is backward, and that one does not do well because of high self-esteem, but that one achieves high self-esteem as a result of one’s accomplishments. In fact, they note that programs concentrated on boosting self-esteem have little effect on raising academic achievement, promoting occupational success, lowering violence, or engendering prosocial behaviors. This is consonant with the argument that it isn’t self-esteem, but how one pursues it, that is most important, and that there are many costs to the direct pursuit of self-esteem (Crocker and Park, 2004). The enhancement of self-esteem in the schools is a topic of great debate. Some educators believe fervently in its power to help students boost their achievement, while others feel that it has either no effect or a negative effect. As a psychologist, you are in an excellent position to help people decide which is true. Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 38, 822–840. DuBois, D. L., & Flay, B. R. (2004). The healthy pursuit of self-esteem: Comment on and alternative to the Crocker and Park (2004) formulation. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 415–420. Haney, P., & Durlak, J. A. (1998). Changing self-esteem in children and adolescents: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27, 423– 433. Now, the California task force to promote self esteem [Electronic version]. (1986, October 11). The New York Times, 136, 8. Shaw, P. (1994, Summer). Education bulletin: Self-esteem rises to all-time high; test scores hit new lows [Electronic version]. Antioch Review, 52(3), 467–475. Retrieved on July 24, 2007 from EBSCO Academic Premier database. Tevendale, H. D., DuBois, D. L., Lopez, C. & Prindiville, S. L. (1997). Selfesteem stability and early adolescent adjustment: An exploratory study. Journal of Early Adolescence, 17, 216–237. Wiggins, J. D., & Schatz, E. L. (1994, March). The relationship of selfesteem to grades, achievement test scores, and other factors critical to school success [Electronic version. School Counselor, 41(4), 239– 244. Retrieved on July 24, 2007 from EBSCO Academic Premier database.
ACTIVITY 11.1: Reproductive Education: Monkey See, Monkey Do? One of the major controversies in education has been whether to provide reproductive information to children and adolescents. Many people feel that it is necessary to provide children with clear information about their sexuality and reproductive health in school, to help them make better reproductive and sexual choices (Schemo, 2000). Educators often insist that such programs increase the use of safer sexual practices, such as the use of contraceptives (Ancheta, Hynes, & Shrier, 2005; Carrera, Kaye, Philliber, & West, 2000). Others insist that it is not the job of the schools, and that it should be handled by parents. One of the major objections to teaching children and adolescents about sexual health and reproduction has been that if they learn about it in school, they will engage in sexual behaviors at an earlier age. Others object on moral or religious grounds, arguing that sex education will promote immoral or dangerous behavior (de Vise, 2007), and insist that reproductive education programs only provide information about abstinence until marriage (Feldmann, 1995). In any case, when children and adolescents do not get information about sex, many remain ignorant or turn to the Internet, which often provides incorrect and sometimes dangerous information (Carrera, Kaye, Philliber, & West, 2000; Elias, 2005; Greenfield, 2004). Will children or adolescents who are taught about sexuality and reproduction in school be more likely to engage in sexual behavior than those who do not receive such information? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion about this. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Ancheta, R., Hynes, C., & Shrier, L. A. (2005). Reproductive health education and sexual risk among high-risk female adolescents and young adults. Journal of Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology, 18(2), 105–111. Carrera, M., Kaye, J. W., Philliber, S., & West, E. (2000). Knowledge about reproduction, contraception, and sexually transmitted infections among young adolescents in American cities. Social Policy, 30(3), 41–50. de Vise, D. (2007, January 10). Board of education approves new sex-ed curriculum. Washington Post, p. B02. Elias, M. (2005, October 17). Teens turn to Internet for information on sex. USA Today, p. 07d. Feldmann, L. (1995, October 5). State lawmakers push abstinence-based sex ed. Christian Science Monitor, 87(218), p. 3. Greenfield, P. M. (2004). Inadvertent exposure to pornography on the Internet: Implications of peer-to-peer file-sharing networks for child development and families. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 25, 741–750. Schemo, D. J. (2000, October 4). Survey finds parents favor more detailed sex education. New York Times, 150(51531), p. A1.
Does being in second place make someone work harder? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Avis. (2003). We try harder.com. Retrieved January 13, 2007, from http://www.avis.com/ AvisWeb/html/wetryharder/index.html. Charbonnier, E., Huguet, P., Brauer, M., & Monteil, J.-M. (1998). Social learning and self–beliefs: People’s collective effort depends on the extent to which they distinguish themselves as better than others. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 26, 329– 340. Huguet, P., Charbonnier, E., & Monteil, J.-M. (1999). Productivity loss in performance groups: People who see themselves as average do not engage in social loafing. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 3(2), 118–131.
ACTIVITY 11.3: Weighty Problems How many times have you seen friends diet unsuccessfully? They may not be able to lose any weight, or may succeed for a short time, but then regain the weight. Some individuals believe that people who can’t lose weight are just weak-willed, and that if they really wanted to, they could just buckle down and do it. Many weight-loss programs are based entirely on this idea, and provide a lot of personal support for their clients, sometimes in the manner of the twelve-step programs used to work with addicts (Hunger in Soul, 1993). Television personality Dr. Phil McGraw takes this approach (Hellmich, 2003). Researchers have looked at several other possibilities for weight gain (Baumeister, Kahn, & Tice, 1990; Grilo & Pogue-Geile, 1991; McGuire, Wingh, Klem, Lang, & Hill, 1999; Moreno-Aliaga, Santos, Marti, & Martinez, 2005). Other possibilities are detailed on pages 303 and 304 in your textbook (Bernstein & Nash, 2008). Is it true that the reason many people can’t lose weight is personal weakness? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Baumeister, R. F., Kahn, J., & Tice, D. M. (1990). Obesity as a selfhandicapping strategy: Personality, selective attribution of problems, and weight loss. Journal of Social Psychology, 130, 121–123. Bernstein, D. A., & Nash, P. W. (2008). Essentials of Psychology (4th ed.). New York: Houghton Mifflin. Grilo, C. M., & Pogue-Geile, M. F. (1991). The nature of environmental influences on weight and obesity: A behavior genetic analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 520–537. Hellmich, N. (2003, September 9). Dr. Phil talks the talk on controlling weight. USA Today, p. 10d. ‘Hunger in soul’ dooms dieters. (1993). USA Today Magazine, 122(2579), 5. Moreno-Aliaga, M. J., Santos, J. L., Marti, A., & Martinez, J. A. (2005). Does weight loss prognosis depend on genetic make-up? Obesity Reviews, 6, 155–168.
What is really going on? Is the over scheduling of children for structured play and organized activities causing them harm? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions:
What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Bettelheim, B. (1987, March). The importance of play. The Atlantic Monthly, 259(3), 35–46. Busseri, M. A., Rose-Krasnor, L., Willoughby, T., & Chalmers, H. (2006). A longitudinal examination of breadth and intensity of youth activity involvement in successful development. Developmental Psychology, 42, 1313–1326. Carey, B. (2007, January 14). Can Johnny come out and (be taught to) play? New York Times, 156(53824), 3. Cooper, H., Valentine, J. C., Nye, B., & Lindsay, J. J. (1999). Relationships between five after-school activities and academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 369–378. Ferguson, S. (2004, November 22). Stressed out! Macleans, 117(47), 30– 38. Luthar, S. S., Shoum, K. A., & Brown, P. J. (2006). Extracurricular involvement among affluent youth: A scapegoat for “ubiquitous achievement pressures”? Developmental Psychology, 42, 583–597. Schindehette, S., Fowler, , J., Nelson, M., & Wesfall, J. (2002, September 23). Learning to chill. People, 58(13), 74–78. Smith, R. P. (1984). Let your kids alone. In M. Rainbolt & J. Fleetwood (Eds.) On the contrary: Essays by men and women (pp. 93–98). Albany: State University of New York Press. Zero to Three: The National Center For Infants, Toddlers and Families. (n.d.). The importance of play. Retrieved January 13, 2007, from http://www.zerotothree.org/ Search/index2.cfm .
families, which consist of just the parents and children. Yet other children are raised by single parents, grandparents, or other relatives, or foster parents. Many people in the United States believe that the best way to raise children is in a nuclear family, where the father works and the mother stays at home with the children, as depicted in television shows such as Leave it to Beaver or Father Knows Best. Critics such as Whitehead (1993) say that children not raised in such households are more likely to be poor and abused, are likely to have difficulty with intimacy, and may be unable to hold regular jobs. Walker and Hennig (1997) did find some difficulties with regard to ego functioning, family intimacy, and conflict among children and parents in their comparison of single-parent and two-parent families. Gartrell, Deck, Rodas, Peyser, and Banks (2005) investigated the psychological development of children who were brought up in homes with two lesbian parents, comparing their development to that of children brought up in heterosexual two-parent homes. Comparisons of children from heterosexual, two-parent households with children from households with parents who are lesbian couples or single mothers were made by Solombok and colleagues (2003). Researchers have also looked at the development of parent-child relationships and the psychological well being of the mothers in both single-parent and two-parent homes where donor insemination was used to conceive the children (Murray & Golombok, 2005). Is the model of the heterosexual two-parent family the best way to raise children? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Walker, L. J., & Hennig, K. H. (1997). Parent/child relationships in singleparent families. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 29, 63–75. Whitehead, B. D. (1993, April). Dan Quayle was right. The Atlantic Monthly, 271(4), 47–84.
ACTIVITY 12.3: Space Cadet Science-fiction writers have long speculated about what life would be like if we could colonize space. Recently, several companies have been set up to give people tours of space or vacations in space (Glines, 2005; Grainger, 2004; Robertson, 2006). There has also been much serious speculation about setting up space industries, such as mining in the asteroid belt or creating a colony in earth orbit (Erickson, 2006). Many writers have contemplated colonies in the weightless environment of outer space, positing that people would be healthier and would live longer in such places. NASA and other scientific organizations have been looking into long-term stays in space, but obviously no one has been able to try raising a family there. Still, a lot of work has been done on our ability to live in space for extended periods (Durante, 2002; Hawkey, 2003; Nicogossian, 2003). Would people raised outside the gravitational field of the earth be healthier and live longer? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Grainger, D. (2004, November 1). Space nerds face the final frontier. Fortune, 150(8), 16. Hawkey, A. (2003). The importance of exercising in space. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 28, 130–138. Nicogossian, A. (2003). Medicine and space exploration. The Lancet, 362, 8–9. Robertson, E. (2006, April 7). Virgin takes next step in space race. Travel Weekly: The Choice of Travel Professionals, 12.
ACTIVITY 13.1: Is Beauty the Key to a Better Life? Some individuals believe that good-looking people operate under the burden of their looks, that they cannot have stable relationships, and that they aren’t taken seriously at work. They’re often subjected to derogatory terms that emphasize their looks and belittle their talents or intelligence. Other individuals seem to believe that good-looking people actually have much happier lives than less attractive people; that they earn more, have more stable home lives, gain more social status, have better love lives, and live longer. These varying viewpoints have been studied by many social psychologists (Baron, Markman, & Bollinger, 2006; Farley, Chia, & Allred, 1998; Henderson & Anglin, 2003; Judge & Cable, 2004; Kalof, 1999; McKelvie & Coley, 1993; Rhodes, Simmons, & Peters, 2005; Shackelford & Larsen, 1999; van Leeuwen & Macrae, 2004). Some writers (Nash, Fieldman, Hussey, Lévêque, & Pineau, 2006) have even implied that cosmetics can make a massive difference in the ways in which people are treated. Television shows such as ABC’s Extreme Makeover or TLC’s What Not to Wear are designed around the idea that people who look better will have better lives. Do beautiful people have better lives? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Farley, S. D., Chia, R. C., & Allred, L. J. (1998). Stereotypes about attractiveness: When beautiful is not better. Journal of Social Behavior & Personality, 13, 479–492.
Henderson, J. J. A., & Anglin, J. M. (2003). Facial attractiveness predicts longevity. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24, 351–356. Judge, T. A., & Cable, D. M. (2004). The effect of physical height on workplace success and income: Preliminary test of a theoretical model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 428–441. Kalof, L. (1999). Stereotyped evaluative judgments and female attractiveness. Gender Issues, 17(2), 68–82. McKelvie, S. J., & Coley, J. (1993). Effects of crime seriousness and offender facial attractiveness on recommended treatment. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 21, 265–277. Nash, R., Fieldman, G., Hussey, T., Lévêque, J.-L., & Pineau, P. (2006). Cosmetics: They influence more than caucasian female facial attractiveness. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36, 493–504. Rhodes, G., Simmons, L. W., & Peters, M. (2005). Attractiveness and sexual behavior: Does attractiveness enhance mating success? Evolution and Human Behavior, 26, 186–201. Shackelford, T. K., & Larsen, R. J. (1999). Facial attractiveness and physical health. Evolution and Human Behavior, 20, 71–76. van Leeuwen, M. J., & Macrae, C. N. (2004). Is beautiful always good? Implicit benefits of facial attractiveness. Social Cognition, 22(6), 637–649.
Will optimistic people live longer, happier, and healthier lives? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions:
What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Optimistic people live longer. (2003, January). Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, 20(11), 2–5. Mayo Clinic Study: Optimists report higher quality of life. (2002, November/December). FDA Consumer, 36(6), 7. Mahler, H. I. M., & Kulik, J. A. (2000). Optimism, pessimism and recovery from coronary bypass surgery: Prediction of affect, pain and functional status. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 5, 347–358. Segerstrom, S. C. (2006). How does optimism suppress immunity? Evaluation of three affective pathways. Health Psychology, 25, 653– 657. Sethi, S. & Seligman, M. E. P. (1993). Optimism and fundamentalism. Psychological Science, 4, 256–259. Warner, J. (2004, November 1) Optimism may help you live longer. WebMD Medical News. Retrieved January 13, 2007, from http://www.webmd.com/content/article/ 96/103659.htm .
http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/can-prayer-heal. Does intercessory prayer have a direct effect on a patient’s health? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Benson, H., Dusek, J. A., Sherwood, J. B., Lam, P., Bethea, C. F., Carpenter, W., Levitsky, S., Hill, P. C., Clem, D. W., Jain, M. K., Drumel, D., Kopecky, S. L., Mueller, P. S., Marek, D., Rollins, S., & Hibberd, P. L. (2006). Study of the therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients: A multicenter randomized trial of uncertainty and certainty of receiving intercessory prayer. American Heart Journal, 151, 934–942. Krucoff, M. W., Crater, S. W., Green, C. L., Maas, A. C., Seskevich, J. E., Lane, J. D., Loeffler, K. A., Morris, K., Bashore, T. M., & Koenig, H. G. (2001). Integrative noetic therapies as adjuncts to percutaneous intervention during unstable coronary syndromes: Monitoring and actualization of noetic training (MANTRA) feasibility pilot. American Heart Journal, 142, 760–769. Masters, K. (2005). Research on the healing power of distant intercessory prayer: Disconnect between science and faith. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 33, 268–277. Mathai, J., & Bourne, A. (2004). Pilot study investigating the effect of intercessory prayer in the treatment of child psychiatric disorders. Australasian Psychiatry, 12, 386–389. Matthews, D. A., Marlowe, S. M., & MacNutt, F. S. (2000). Effects of intercessory prayer on patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Southern Medical Journal, 93, 1177–1186. Palmer, R. F., Katerndahl, D., & Morgan-Kidd, J. (2004). A randomized trial of the effects of remote intercessory prayer: Interactions with personal beliefs on problem-specific outcomes and functional status. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 10, 438– 448.
ACTIVITY 14.1: Liar! In a typical courtroom drama, someone takes the witness stand and is sworn “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Truth is very important in any society. And yet, people lie. They may lie for benevolent reasons, such as not hurting someone else’s feelings, or to help protect another person from harm. They may also lie for personal gain, or to inflict pain on another person. Can you spot a liar? What would you look for? Ekman (1996) writes that there are many reasons why we cannot or do not detect liars. There’s been a lot of research on the effectiveness of mechanical “lie detectors” such as polygraph machines, voice stress analyzers, or thermal imaging systems (Dery, 2004; Grubin & Madsen, 2005; Stern, 2003). Some scientists believe that you can tell whether someone is lying by looking at their body language or their facial expressions (Ekman, O’Sullivan, & Frank, 1999; Elaad, 2003; Hart, Hudson, Fillmore, & Griffith, 2006; Vrij, Edward, & Bull, 2001; Vrij & Mann, 1999). It’s even been suggested that dogs can be trained to sniff out lies (Magnusson, 2002). Is it really possible to know whether someone is lying? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Dery, G. M. (2004). Lying eyes: Constitutional implications of new thermal imaging lie detection technology. American Journal of Criminal Law, 31, 217–250.
Ekman, P. (1996). Why don’t we catch liars? Social Research, 63, 801–817. Ekman, P., O’Sullivan, M., & Frank, M. G. (1999). A few can catch a liar. Psychological Science, 10, 263–266. Elaad, E. (2003). Effects of feedback on the overestimated capacity to detect lies and the underestimated ability to tell lies. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 17, 349–363. Grubin, D., & Madsen, L. (2005). Lie detection and the polygraph: A historical review. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 16, 357–369. Hart, C. L., Hudson, L. P., Fillmore, D. G., & Griffith, J. D. (2006). Managerial beliefs about the behavioral cues of deception. Individual Differences Research, 4, 176–184. Magnusson, P. (2002, April 8). Maybe they can sniff out lies, too. Business Week. 3777, 12. Stern, L. (2003, November 17). We know you’re lying. Newsweek, 142(20), E4. Vrij, A., Edward, K., & Bull, R. (2001). Police officers’ ability to detect deceit: The benefit of indirect deception detection methods. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 6, 185–196. Vrij, A., & Mann, S. (2001). Telling and detecting lies in a high-stake situation: The case of a convicted murderer. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 15, 187–203.
satisfaction of employees who had used it to decide on their occupations. Knapp, Knapp, and Knapp-Lee (1985) looked at the COPSystem Interest Inventory as a predictor of the occupational choices of high school graduates. Costa and McRae (1984) reported on the possible utility of combining tests for occupational type and personality. The combination of interests and abilities as predictors of occupational choice was also investigated by Tracey and Hopkins (2001). Researchers have even looked at the correspondence between the prediction of a test that a person will do well in a job, and how well those people were rated by their supervisors on the job (Chockalingam, Ones, & Hough, 2001; Murphy & Dzieweczynski, 2005; Piedmont & Weinstein, 1994). How successful are personality tests at matching people with their professions? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Butler, F. J. J., Crinnion, J., & Martin, J. (1972). The Kuder Preference Record in adult vocational guidance. Occupational Psychology, 46, 99–104. Carr, P. G., de la Garza, J. M., & Vorster, M. C. (2002). Relationship between personality traits and performance for engineering and architectural professionals providing design services. Journal of Management in Engineering, 18, 158–166. Costa, P. T., McCrae, R. R., & Holland, J. L. (1984). Personality and vocational interests in an adult sample. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69, 390–400. Knapp, R. R., Knapp, L., & Knapp-Lee, L. (1985). Occupational interest measurement and subsequent career decisions: A predictive Follow Up study of the COPSystem Interest Inventory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 32, 384–354. Maynard, R. (1994, June). Match the right workers with the right jobs. Nation’s Business, 82(6), 10.
Murphy, K. R., & Dzieweczynski, J. L. (2005). Why don’t measures of broad dimensions of personality perform better as predictors of job performance? Human Performance, 18, 343–357. Piedmont, R. L., & Weinstein, H. P. (1994). Predicting supervisor ratings of job performance using the NEO Personality Inventory. Journal of Psychology, 128, 255–265. Sherrid, P. (1994, October 31). A 12-hour test of my personality. U. S. News & World Report, 117(17), 109. Tracey, T. J. G., & Hopkins, N. (2001). Correspondence of interests and abilities with occupational choices. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48, 178–189. Viswesvaran, C., Ones, D. S., & Hough, L. M. (2001). Do impression management scales in personality inventories predict managerial job performance ratings? International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 9, 277–289.
ACTIVITY 14.3: Love Online Do you know someone who has met his or her partner or spouse through an Internet matching service? Computer dating services have been around for a very long time. As far back as the 1970s, people began to think that by using the power of the electronic brain, they could find the one person destined for them (Lum & Curran, 1975). Originally, these services matched people based on answers to basic questions about their likes and dislikes, lifestyle preferences, religion, and other such variables. As computers became more powerful, the programs became more sophisticated. Several companies offering matchmaking services on the Internet use proprietary personality tests as the basis for their pairings (Carter, 2005; Hansell, 2004). One company even claims to help people find their “soul mates,” although as Gottlieb (2005) reports, that may be more complicated than some people anticipate. You can find information about some of these Internet based companies by looking at their Web sites. For example, you may want to look at http://eharmony.com/servlet /about/eharmony or http://www.match.com/ help/aboutus.aspx.
As you might imagine, anything to do with love is going to attract a lot of attention, even in the psychological community. Many researchers have looked at how people are attracted to one another, different kinds of love in which people might find themselves, and what makes relationships last (Gattis, Berns, Simpson, & Christensen, 2004; Murstein & Brust, 1985; Sternberg, 2000; Zentner, 2005). Others (Houran & Lange, 2004) have investigated the expectations of people who use computer-matching services. Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion about whether Internet matchmaking sites are likely to provide successful results. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Zentner, M. R. (2005). Ideal mate personality concepts and compatibility in close relationships: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 242–256.
ACTIVITY 15.1: Me and My Invisible Friend When you were a child, did you or any of your friends have an imaginary companion? Do you sometimes still think about him or her? In the movie Harvey, James Stewart plays Elwood P. Dowd, a man who has befriended a giant invisible rabbit named Harvey (Koster, 1950). His family and the people he meets are convinced that he’s mentally ill, and that he needs to be put into an institution for his own well being. Some researchers point out that children with imaginary companions are more vulnerable in certain ways (Bonne, Canetti, Bachar, De-Nour, & Shalev, 1999; Hoff, 2005). Others indicate that it is perfectly normal for children to have imaginary friends (Brott, n.d.; Pearson et al., 2001; Taylor, Carlson, Maring, Gerow, & Charley, 2004; Taylor, Cartwright, & Carlson, 1993). In fact, some studies report that children with imaginary companions may be more creative (Hoff, 2005), may find the imaginary companions nurturing in childhood, perhaps helping the children to work out their personal anxieties or develop schemas about social relationships (Friedberg, 1995; Gleason, 2002; Hart & Zellars, 2006), and may have advantages in dealing with anxiety or other negative emotions later in life (Gleason, Jarudi, & Cheek, 2003). Where do we draw the line between a harmless exercise of the imagination and the beginnings of mental illness? Do children’s imaginary playmates signal the beginnings of detachment from reality, and the early signs of mental illness? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Brott, A. (n.d.). Imaginary friends: Should you be concerned. In Family Resource.com. Retrieved January 13, 2007, from http://www.familyresource.com/parenting/ character-development/imaginary-friends-should-you-be-concerned. Friedberg, R. D. (1995). Allegorical lives: Children and their imaginary companions. Child Study Journal, 25, 1–22. Gleason, T. R. (2002). Social provisions of real and imaginary relationships in early childhood. Developmental Psychology, 38, 979–992. Gleason, T. R., Jarudi, R. N., & Cheek, J. M. (2003). Imagination, personality, and imaginary companions. Social Behavior and Personality, 31, 721–738. Hart, T., & Zellars, E. E. (2006). When imaginary companions are sources of wisdom. Encounter,19(1), 6–15. Hoff, E. V. (2005). Imaginary companions, creativity, and self-image in middle childhood. Creativity Research Journal, 17, 167–180. Koster, H. (Director). (1950). Harvey [Film]. United States: Universal International Pictures. Pearson, D., Rouse, H., Doswell, S., Ainsworth, C., Dawson, O., Simms, K., Edwards, L., & Faulconbridge, J. (2001). Prevalence of imaginary companions in a normal child population. Child: Care, Health and Development, 27, 13–22. Taylor, M., Carlson, S. M., Maring, B. L., Gerow, L., & Charley, C. M. (2004). The characteristics and correlates of fantasy in school-age children: Imaginary companions, impersonation, and social understanding. Developmental Psychology, 40, 1173–1187. Taylor, M., Cartwright, B. S., & Carlson, S. M. (1993). A developmental investigation of children’s imaginary companions. Developmental Psychology, 29, 276–285.
vaccinations from their children in an effort to prevent autism. Drug companies and government agencies have declared that there is no link between vaccines and autism, but many people feel that the manufacturers and governments are simply lying to avoid litigation and want to be able to sell more vaccine (Allan, 2004; Roberts, 2002). In response, researchers have attempted to document the link between autism and certain vaccinations (DeStefano, Bhasin, Thompson, Yeargin-Allsopp, & Boyle, 2004; Goldman & Yazbak, 2004; Honda, Shimizu, & Rutter, 2005; Madsen & Vestergaard, 2004). Is it likely that autism is caused by substances carried in children’s vaccines? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Madsen, K. M., & Vestergaard, M. (2004). MMR vaccination and autism: What is the evidence for a causal association? Drug Safety, 27, 831– 840. Roberts, Y. (2002, February 21). An epidemic of crude propaganda. Community Care, 1410, 23.
ACTIVITY 15.3: All Artists Are Nuts Vincent van Gogh cut off part of his ear and tried to give it to someone as a gift. Many gifted writers such as Virginia Woolf and Edgar Allen Poe are said to have suffered from mental illnesses. Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Steven Foster are among the many creative musicians listed among the ranks of the tormented. To many people, it seems that creativity and madness are inextricably linked (Lauronen et al., 2004). Psychologists have investigated the possible relationship between creativity and several psychological conditions, such as bipolar disorder (Rothenberg, 2001; Shapiro & Weisberg, 1999; Weisberg, 1994; Creativity and Bipolar Disorder, 2006), schizophrenia (Cela-Conde et al., 2006; Gosline, 2004), and depression (Kaufman & Baer, 2002; Verhaeghen, Joormann, & Kahn, 2005). Franklin and Cornell (1997), on the other hand, have suggested that creativity may itself be mistaken for mental illness under certain conditions, even in individuals who are emotionally stable. What do you think is the most reasonable conclusion? Is madness necessary for true creativity, or does creativity eventually cause madness? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Lauronen, E., Veijola, J., Isohanni, I., Jones, P. B., Nieminen, P., & Isohanni, M. (2004). Links between creativity and mental disorder. Psychiatry, 67, 81–98. Rothenberg, A. (2001). Bipolar illness, creativity, and treatment. Psychiatric Quarterly, 72, 131–147. Shapiro, P. J., & Weisberg, R. W. (1999). Creativity and bipolar diathesis: Common behavioural and cognitive components. Cognition and emotion, 13, 741–762. Verhaeghen, P., Joormann, J., & Khan, R. (2005). Why we sing the blues: The relation between self-reflective rumination, mood, and creativity. Emotion, 5, 226–232. Weisberg, R. W. (1994). Genius and madness? A quasi-experimental test of the hypothesis that manic-depression increases creativity. Psychological Science, 5, 361–367.
ACTIVITY 16.1: The Acid Test Most people know LSD only as a psychedelic drug used during the 1960s by hippies. However, some scientists believe that LSD can be used to treat autism, alcoholism, and schizophrenia with a great degree of success. Early studies done by psychiatrists in the 1950s and 1960s were said to show some promise in these areas (Dyck, 2005; Whalen, 1998). In 1955, the Saturday Evening Post declared LSD to be a new wonder drug (Yoder, 1955). Yet, only a few years later, that same publication declared, “if you take LSD even once, your children may be born malformed or retarded” (Davidson, 1967, p. 22). Even some early researchers who had been convinced of LSD’s usefulness and safety turned against it later, for several reasons (Novak, 1997), but there is a movement among some scientists to renew LSD research (Claridge, 1994; Grinspoon, 1981). Can LSD be useful in treating alcoholism, autism, and schizophrenia? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Novak, S. J. (1997). LSD before Leary. ISIS: Journal of the History of Science in Society, 88, 87–110. Whalen, J. (1998, November-December). The Hollywood experiment. Utne Reader, 90, 81–118. Yoder, R. M. (1955, October 22). Help for the living dead. Saturday Evening Post, 228(17), 42–43, 64, 66, 71.
ACTIVITY 16.2: Does DARE Deliver? The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program began in Los Angeles in 1983. According to the official DARE Web site (http://www.dare.com/home/about_dare.asp), it is currently available in 75% of the school districts in the United States, and has also been picked up in 43 other countries. Information on the program’s Web site notes that current research shows it to be an effective program (http://www.dare.com/home/Resources/Story1eb3.asp? N=Resources&M=16&S=43) and (http://www.dare.com/home/Resources/documents/DAREMarch06ProgressRe port.pdf). Still, Aniskiewicz and Wysong (1990) note that while it does seem to be successful in accomplishing its stated aims in the short term, it is more of a success in a political sense. Other researchers (Drug Education, 1999; Ennett, Tobler, Ringwalt, & Flewelling, 1994; GAO, 2003; Thombs, 2000; Zagumny & Thompson, 1997) have raised concerns about DARE’s long-term effectiveness. Is DARE successful at keeping children and adolescents from using drugs? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Drug education programs fail in Houston. (1999, January/February). Society, 36(2), 3–4. Ennett, S. T., Tobler, N. S., Ringwalt, C. L., & Flewelling, R. L. (1994). How effective is Drug Abuse Resistance Education? A meta-analysis of Project DARE outcome evaluations. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 1394–1401. GAO literature review reiterates ineffectiveness of original D. A. R. E. (2003, January 27). Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, 15(4), 1–2. Lynam, D. R., Milich, R., Zimmerman, R., Novak, S. P., Logan, T. K., Martin, C., Leukefeld, C. & Clayton, R. (1999). Project DARE: No effects at 10-year follow-up. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 590–593. Thombs, D. L. (2000). A retrospective study of DARE: Substantive effects not detected in undergraduates. Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education, 46(1), 27–40. Zagumny, M. J., & Thompson, M. K. (1997). Does D. A. R. E. work? An evaluation in rural Tennessee. Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education, 42(2), 32–41.
The truth videos seem to have gotten a lot of people talking about the problem of cigarette smoking, but have they actually convinced anyone to avoid smoking or to give up the habit if they already smoke? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Evans, W. D., Price, S., & Blahut, S. (2005). Evaluating the truth ® brand. Journal of Health Communication, 10, 181–192. Farrelly, M. C., Davis, K. C., Haviland, M. L., Messeri, P., & Healton, C. G. (2005). Evidence of a dose–response relationship between “truth” antismoking ads and youth smoking prevalence. American Journal of Public Health, 95, 425–431. Hersey, J. C., Niederdeppe, J., Evans, W. D., Nonnemaker, J., Blahut, S., Holden, D., Messeri, P., & Haviland, M. L. (2005). The theory of “truth”: How counterindustry media campaigns affect smoking behavior among teens. Health Psychology, 24, 22–31. Philip Morris USA. (1999). Philip Morris USA—Smoking & Health Issues— Quitting Smoking. Retrieved January 20, 2007, from http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/ en/health_issues/quitting_smoking.asp. Sly, D. F., Hopkins, R. S., Trapido, E., & Ray, S. (2001). Influence of a counteradvertising media campaign on initiation of smoking: The Florida “truth” campaign. American Journal of Public Health, 91, 233– 238. truth. (2007). Thetruth.com. Retrieved 20 January, 2007, from http://www.thetruth.com/.
ACTIVITY 17.1: Does Marriage Need Defending? Marriage and family life are integral parts of American culture. Many people fall in love, and want to marry and raise families. It seems as though everyone has some idea of what a family should look like. For many people, the family consists of a father, a mother, their children, and sometimes grandparents or other relatives. Other people believe that families might consist of other combinations, for example two men and their children or two women and their children. Some people believe that gay or lesbian marriage is perfectly normal and healthy, and that it is a right that should be protected by the idea of equality under law (Hartocollis, 2006). Others, often for religious reasons, believe that such unions are unnatural, and can threaten the stability of normal families (Lueck, 2004). In fact, the federal government took a position on this when the Defense of Marriage Act was signed into law in 1996 (Defense, 2007). Overall, public opinion on the issue seems to have been shifting towards acceptance of such unions in the past few years (Paulson, Miller, & Paul, 2004; Toner, 2003). Will the acceptance of gay and lesbian unions threaten the stability of marriages in general? Some research on the success of gay and lesbian families has been done (Herek, 2006; Kurdek, 2005; Solomon, Rothblum, & Balsam, 2004), and may be worth viewing in your deliberations. Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Hartocollis, A. (2006, July 8). Meaning of ‘normal’ is at heart of gay marriage ruling. New York Times, 155(53634), B3. Herek, G. M. (2006). Legal Recognition of same-sex relationships in the United States: A social science perspective. American Psychologist, 61, 607–621. Kurdek, L. A. (2005). What do we know about gay and lesbian couples? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 251–254. Lueck, T. J. (2004, March 10). Bishops assail gay marriage as a threat. New York Times, 153(52784), B1. Paulson, A., Miller, S. B., & Paul, N. C. (2004, February 27). Wedding shots deepen gay-marriage divide. Christian Science Monitor, 96(64), 3. Solomon, S. E., Rothblum, E. D., & Balsam, K. E. (2004). Pioneers in partnership: Lesbian and gay male couples in civil unions compared with those not in civil unions and married heterosexual siblings. Journal of Family Psychology, 18, 275–286. Toner, R. (2003, July 25). Opposition to gay marriage is declining, study finds. New York Times, 152(52555), A16.
ACTIVITY 17.2: What’s So Funny? In his guise as the 2000 Year Old Man, Mel Brooks said, “Tragedy is if I’ll cut my little finger … Comedy is if you fall into an open sewer and die” (Brooks, 1994). His explanation was that all comedy is based on the pain of somebody else—your own pain is tragic, someone else’s can be funny. Of the four major psychological explanations for comedy, one is that the things we find funny are those that make us feel superior (Berger & Wildavsky, 1994; Fatt, 1998). This is how many psychologists explain the popularity of slapstick humor, ethnic jokes, political satire, and other aggressive forms of comedy (Berger & Wildavsky, 1994; Wyer & Collins, 1992). For example, McCauley, Woods, Coolidge, and Kulick (1983) reported that subjects were more likely to find cartoons funnier if their subject matter was more aggressive. Interestingly, there may be other forces at work. In looking at some of the reasons for the success of aggressive or violent comedy, McIntosh, Murray, Murray, and Manian (2003) found that the frequency of films depicting such humor seemed tied to specific social conditions. So, is humor based on the pain of other people? Do we need to feel superior to laugh? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions:
1. What am I being asked to believe or accept? 2. What evidence is there to support the assertion? 3. Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence?
4. What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? 5. What conclusions are most reasonable? References: Berger, A. A., & Wildavsky, A. (1994). Who laughs at what? Society, 31(6), 82–86. Brooks, M. (Speaker). (1994). The complete 2000 year old man (CD recording #71017). Los Angeles: Rhino. Fatt, J. P. T. (1998, October/November). Why do we laugh? Communication World, 15(9), 12–14. McCauley, C., Woods, K., Coolidge, C., & Kulick, W. (1983). More aggressive cartoons are funnier. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 817–823. McIntosh, W. D., Murray, J. D., Murray, R. M., & Manian, S. (2003). What’s so funny about a poke in the eye? The prevalence of violence in comedy films and its relation to social and economic threat in the United States, 1951–2000. Mass Communication & Society, 6, 345– 360. Wyer, R. S., Jr., & Collins, J. E. (1992). A theory of humor elicitation. Psychological Review, 99, 663–688.
and differences between online and offline friendships, Carter (2004, 2005) notes that friendships in cyberspace operate in much the same way that friendships have always operated: starting tentatively, building trust, and developing over time. In fact, many people have not only begun friendships online, but loving relationships, which have been consummated in marriage in the non-virtual world (Chen, 2007). Mesch and Talmud (2006) report that online and offline friendships are extremely similar; in both cases, newer relationships tend to be superficial and longer-term relationships are quite strong. However, some researchers report that online friendships are not as well developed or as deep as offline friendships. Cummings, Butler, & Kraut (2002) found that although they are highly interactive, and may carry a lot of message traffic, most online communities do not develop strong social ties with intimate personal communication, perhaps due to the lack of face-toface or direct voice cues. People who use the Internet extensively show declines in non-virtual communication with their families and social groups, and a drop in the size of their social groups, as well as increased depression and loneliness (Kraut, Patterson, Kiesler, Mukopadhyay, & Scherlis, 1998). Does the Internet actually promote deep friendships, or are the relationships generated online only superficial? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Kraut, R. Patterson, V. L., Kiesler, S. Mukopadhyay, T., & Scherlis, W. (1998). Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? American Psychologist, 53, 1017–1031. Mesch, G., & Talmud, I. (2006). The quality of online and offline relationships: The role of multiplexity and duration of social relationships. The Information Society, 22(3), 137–148. Morris, D. (1967). The naked ape: A zoologist’s study of the human animal. New York: McGraw Hill.
References: Baron, R. M., & Needel, S. P. (1980). Toward an understanding of the differences in the responses of humans and other animals to density. Psychological Review, 87, 320–326. de Waal, F. D. M., Aureli, F., & Judge, P. G. (2000, May). Coping with crowding. Scientific American, 282(5), 76–81. Evans, G. W., Palsane, M. N., Lepore, S. J., & Martin, J. (1989). Residential density and psychological health: The mediating effects of social support. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 994–999. Goecknet, D. J., Greenough, W. T., & Mead, W. R. (1973). Deficits in learning tasks following chronic overcrowding in rats. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 28, 256–261. Gregor, G. L., Smith, R. F., Simons, L. S., & Parker, H. B. (1970). Behavioral consequences of crowding in the deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 79, 488–493. Griffitt, W. & Veitch, R. (1971). Hot and crowded: Influences of population density and temperature on interpersonal affective behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 17, 92–98. Lawrence, J. E. S. (1974). Science and sentiment: Overview of research on crowding and human behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 81, 712–720. Miller, J. A., & Peterson, I. (1984, June 16). Life in a maddening crowd. Science News, 125(24), 377. Morrison, B. J. & Thatcher, K. (1969). Overpopulation effects on social reduction of emotionality in the albino rat. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 69, 658–662. Soleri, P. (2001). Urban ideal: Conversations with Paolo Soleri. Albany, CA: Berkely Hills Books.
ACTIVITY 18.2: Kids Today Are Just Plain Rude, and It’s All Because of Their Cell Phones and Other Electronic Gadgets It’s no surprise to find that many older people seem to believe that members of the younger generation are not as polite, hardworking, or serious as they were in their younger days. This is perhaps best exemplified by a quote attributed to Hesiod (8th Century B.C.E.):
I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint.
Or this one, attributed to Socrates (469–399 B.C.E.):
The children now love luxury; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are tyrants, not servants of the households. They no longer rise when their elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize over their teachers.
1. What am I being asked to believe or accept? 2. What evidence is there to support the assertion? 3. Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence?
4. What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? 5. What conclusions are most reasonable? References: Anderberg, K. (2003). Phone (un)etiquette. Communications News, 40(3), 4. Burstein, J. (2003, November 7). Rudeness loves company. Chronicle of Higher Education, 50(11), B5. Carter, R. (2006, August 17). Rudeness is running rampant in today’s hightech society. New York Amsterdam News, 97(34, 10, 41. Grimes, W. (1993, October 17). Have a #%!&$! day. The New York Times, 143(49487), 9/1. It’s the law. (1999, August/September). Teacher Magazine, 11(1), 21. Kelly, K. (2004, January 18). New concern that politeness is a lost art in the office. The New York Times, 153(52732), 10/1. Krakovsky, M. (2004, March/April). Caveat sender. Psychology Today, 37(2), 15–16. Lauer, C. S. (2002, March 4). The end of civility? Modern Healthcare, 32(9), 29. Marx, G. (1994, January). Taming rude technologies. Technology Review, 97(1), 66–67. Melton, M. (2000, August 14). Listen up! Rudeness is rife and it=s time to fight back. U.S. News & World Report, 129(6), 57. What? Me? Rude? (1997, April). Scholastic Choices, 12(7), 6–9.
engage in consensus-based decision-making view the decisions as more fair and are generally more supportive of those decisions (Gautschi, 1988; Lentz, 1999; Sager, & Gastil, 2006). Sargisson (2004) found that utopian communities in New Zealand that used consensus-based decision-making were extremely effective at promoting power sharing and participation among their members. According to Gautschi (1988), “Consensus thinking can not only make better use of the available resources, but it can also increase the participants’ commitment to any decisions that result from the consensus process” (p. 192). Opponents say that trying to reach consensus is too slow and inefficient for some tasks, and should only be used in particular circumstances (Lentz, 1999). Peterson, Peterson, and Peterson (2005) assert that consensus is actually a bad way to make decisions, as the process may ignore the fundamental and actual realities of a situation in favor of the constructed reality of the group. This view is supported by Briant (2005). In fact, Kuhn’s (1970) argument in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, is that scientific progress is only made when the consensus view held by scientists is challenged and disproved by specific research. It is also worth noting that Sager and Gastil (2006) report that certain personality traits and levels of supportive communication seem to be related to the successful use of a consensus strategy. Given the success of consensus-based thinking in mobilizing support and feelings of fairness and inclusion, is it the best method for most groups to use in coming to important decisions? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
40. Peterson, M. N., Peterson, M. J., & Peterson, T. R. (2005). Conservation and the myth of consensus. Conservation Biology, 19, 762–767. Sager, K. L., & Gastil, J. (2006). The origins and consequences of consensus decision making: A test of the social consensus model. Southern Communication Journal, 71(1), 1–24. Sargisson, L. (2004). Justice inside Utopia? The case of intentional communities in New Zealand. Contemporary Justice Review, 7, 321– 333.
ACTIVITY 19.1: Our Brains Are Hard-Wired for Religion In 1998, neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran claimed to have seen evidence of a module in the brain for processing religious information and feelings (Talan, 1998). Later research suggested that religious experiences were cognitive processes related to particular brain structures (Azari et al., 2001; Azari, Nimmsimer, & Seitz, 2005). Some psychologists suggest that these structures require us to think in certain pre-programmed ways, which either predispose or compel us to have religious experiences (Newberg, 2001). Critics believe that the brain is too complex for such studies to bear any useful fruit (Albright, 2000). Responses from the theological community have even questioned the ability of neuropsychology to ascertain anything about transcendent religious experiences in terms of brain functions (Delio, 2003). Livingston (2005) and Seybold (2005) argue that simply finding correlations between religious feelings and activity in particular areas of the brain does not constitute evidence for what some researchers have called a “God module” in the brain. Are we programmed to believe? Is religion nothing more than an artifact of the way in which our brain has developed? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
L., Herzog, H., Stoerig, P., Birnbacher, D., & Seitz, R. J. (2001). Neural correlates of religious experience. European Journal of Neuroscience, 13, 1649–1652. Azari, N. P., Missimer, J., & Seitz, R. J. (2005). Religious experience and emotion: Evidence for distinctive cognitive neural patterns. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15, 263–281. Delio, I. (2003). Brain science and the biology of belief: A theological response. Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science, 38, 573–585. Livingsont, K. R. (2005). Religious practice, brain, and belief. Journal of Cognition & Culture, 75–117. Newberg, A. B. (2001). Putting the mystical mind together. Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science, 36, 501–507. Seybold, K. S. (2005). God and the brain: Neuroscience looks at religion. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 24(2), 122–129. Talan, J. (1998, March/April). Religion: Is it all in your head? Psychology Today, 31(2), 9.
Proponents claim that it is a safe procedure, but this is also what practitioners said about the use of lobotomies, early forms of electroconvulsive (electro-shock) therapy, and other treatments that have since been shown to be harmful. Direct magnetic stimulation of the brain is a relatively new idea and may not yet be fully understood. If someone you care about were suffering from one of the conditions listed above, would you be confident in recommending TMS as a treatment option? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
McIntosh, A. M., Semple, D., Tasker, K., Harrison, L. K., Owens, D. G., Johnstone, E. C., Ebmeier, K. P. (2004). Transcranial magnetic stimulation for auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research, 127, 9–17. Mashour, G. A., Walker, E. E., & Martuza, R. L. (2005). Psychosurgery: Past, present, and future. Brain Research Reviews, 48, 409–419. Osborne, L. (2003, June 22). Savant for a day. New York Times Magazine, 152(52522), 38–41. Rossini, D., Lucca, A., Zanardi, R., Magri, L, & Smeraldi, E. (2005). Transcranial magnetic stimulation in treatment-resistant depressed patients: A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Psychiatry Research, 137, 1–10. Sachdev, P, Loo, C., Mitchell, P., & Malhi, G. (2005). Transcranial magnetic stimulation for the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia: A pilot investigation. Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences, 354–357. Vanderhasselt, M.-A., De Raedt, R., Baeken, C., Leyman, L., & D’haenen, H. (2006). The influence of rTMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on Stroop task performance. Experimental Brain Research, 169, 179–282.
If you’re like most students, you may have problems getting enough sleep. Would you use the Russian sleep machine? Your answer should address the machine’s safety and effectiveness. Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
CAUTION: Several of the articles cited in this exercise provide some schematic diagrams and rudimentary instructions for building a Russian sleep machine. These directions are neither complete nor fully tested, and therefore it would be unwise and possibly unsafe for you to attempt to build a Russian sleep machine for yourself.
References: Brown, C. C. (1975). Electroanesthesia and electrosleep. American Psychologist, 30, 402–410. Flemenbaum, A. (1974). Cerebral electrotherapy (electrosleep): An openclinical study with a six month follow-up. Psychosomatics, 15, 20–24. Magora, F., Beller, A., Aladjemoff, L., & Tannenbaum, J. (1964). Electrical sleep in dogs. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 36, 407–414. Nias, D. K. B. (1976). Therapeutic effects of low-level direct electrical currents. Psychological Bulletin, 83, 766–773. Rosenthal, S. H., & Wulfsohn, N. L. (1970). Electrosleep clinical trial. American Journal of Psychiatry, 127, 533–534. Singh, K. (1967). Sleep inducing devices: A clinical trial with a Russian machine. International Journal of Neuropsychiatry, 3, 311–318. von Richthofen, C. L., & Mellor, C. (1979). Cerebral electrotherapy: Methodological problems in assessing its therapeutic effectiveness. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 1264–1271. Woods, L. W., Tyce, F. A. J., & Bickford, R. C. (1965). Electric sleepproducing devices: An evaluation using EEG monitoring. American Journal of Psychiatry, 122, 153–158.
and teachers. Benjamin (1998) also notes that the ratio of students to faculty has risen dramatically in the past few decades, which may also have something to do with instructors’ ability to teach effectively.
What do you believe? Does tenure help promote good research and teaching, or does it make professors too comfortable, resulting in bad teaching and poor research? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
Holden, C. (1997, April 4). Tenure turmoil sparks reform. Science, 276(5309), 24–26. Williams, W. M., & Ceci, S. J. (2007, March 9). Does tenure really work? Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(27), B16.
References: Alliger, G. M., & Dwight, S. A. (2000). A meta-analytic investigation of the susceptibility of integrity tests to faking and coaching. Educational Psychology & Measurement, 60, 59–72. Camara, W. J., & Schneider, D. L. (1994). Integrity tests: Facts and unresolved issues. American Psychologist, 49, 112–119. Goodstein, L. D., & Lanyon, R. I. (1999). Applications of personality assessment to the workplace: A review. Journal of Business & Psychology, 13, 291–322. Guastello, S. J., & Rieke, M. L. (1991). A review and critique of honesty test research. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 9, 501–523. Jussim, D. (1985, December 21). Lies, damn lies—and polygraphs. Nation, 241(21), 665, 682. Lilienfeld, Alliger, G., & Mitchell, K. (1995). Why integrity testing remains controversial. American Psychologist, 50, 457–458. Lucas, G. M., & Friedrich, J. (2005). Individual differences in workplace deviance and integrity as predictors of academic dishonesty. Ethics & Behavior, 15, 15–35. Rieke, M. L., & Guastello, S. J. (1995). Unresolved issues in honesty and integrity testing. American Psychologist, 50, 458–459. Sackett, P. R. (1994). Integrity testing for personnel selection. Current directions in Psychological Science, 3, 73–76. Saxe, L. (1994). Detection of deception: Polygraph and integrity tests. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 3, 69–73. Wanek, J. E. (1999). Integrity and honesty testing: What do we know? How do we use it? International Journal of Selection & Assessment, 7(4), 183–195.
specific location to work, but might work from home, a favorite restaurant, or even a park or campsite. Many people believe that this flexibility allows workers to be happier and more productive (Apicella & Jefferson, 2001; Wahl, 2007). Butler, Aasheim, and Williams (2007) found that productivity increased when people became telecommuters at the Kentucky American Water Company, and that they sustained that increase over a five-year period. Some researchers have shown that telecommuters’ productivity is not as high as that of on-site workers (Westfall, 2004). Others note that only certain types of workers are likely to be able to work well as telecommuters (Apicella & Jefferson, 2001; Khaifa & Davidson, 2000; Wahl, 2007), or that telecommuting only works in certain types of situations (Apicella & Jefferson, 2001; Khaifa & Davidson, 2000). Managers claim to have difficulties with how telecommuters are to be supervised (Gross, 2006; Schiff, 1998). If you owned a company, should you encourage your workers to telecommute rather than to come in to the office? Use the critical thinking method to come to your own conclusion. Be sure to support your thoughts with credible source material. Remember that in thinking critically, you need to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What am I being asked to believe or accept? What evidence is there to support the assertion? Are there alternative ways of interpreting the evidence? What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives? What conclusions are most reasonable?
References: Apicella, M., & Jefferson, S. (2001, March 12). Telecommuting proves beneficial and detrimental. Infoworld, 23(11), 52–53. Butler, E. S., Aasheim, C., & Williams, S. (2007). Does telecommuting improve productivity? Communications of the ACM, 50(4), 101–103. Gross, G. (2006, June 19). Government managers resist telecommuting plans. Computerworld, 40(25), 21. Khaifa, M., & Davidson, R. (2000). Exploring the telecommuting paradox. Communications of the ACM, 43(3), 29–31. Schiff, D. (1998, October 22). Go telecommute. Electronic Design, 46(24), 64T. Wahl, A. (2007, March 12). Work naked. Canadian Business, 80(6), 33–35.
Westfall, R. D. (2004). Does telecommuting really increase productivity? Communications of the ACM, 47(8), 93–97. Telecommuting. (2007). In Wikipedia. Retrieved on July 27, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommuting .