Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Spring 2019
Response Question Assignment
Instructions: For the following assignment, you are required to watch the following TED talk given by Steven Pinker, an evolutionary psychologist from Harvard University. After watching this talk, please answer the following open-ended questions. Responses should be in paragraph form, except for questions that explicitly ask for bullets.
1)
Which timeless philosophical/psychological debate is Steven Pinker alluding to in his talk? Describe the two sides of this debate. What position does he take in this debate and how do you know? What position do you take in this debate? Support your position.
2)
Describe the political appeals and refutes of the blank slate position in your own words. Come up with your own reason why some individuals may be motivated to believe that human beings are born a blank slate. What might be some political appeals to Steven Pinker’s position?
3)
The self-serving bias is people’s tendency to attribute positive events to their own character but attribute negative events to external factors.
Example: You get an A on an exam and attribute it to your intelligence.
You fail a class an attribute it to the horribleness of the instructor.
Describe some of the connections between the self-serving bias and the debate in Pinker’s video. There is no right answer here. Provide an example from your own life or a friend/family member’s life of when you or they displayed a self-serving bias that reflected a given position in the debate. If you don’t have a personal example, make up a story or scenario. On a scale of 1 (never)-10 (everyday), how often do you believe you display a self-serving bias?
4)
Describe yourself in one paragraph. Reflect on your description of yourself. Don’t change anything you wrote! Where did these characteristics/traits come from? Were they learned or were you born with them? Or both? After your reflection, list (bullet) 5 things about yourself that you didn’t include in the description and next to each one, write “nature” “nurture” or “both”.
5)
Claudia is 20 years old. Undergraduate student. Born in Brooklyn, New York. Middle-Upper Class. Father is from Chile, Mother is American. Her mother died two years ago. Her father is warm, funny and charismatic. He raised her with some of his Chilean culture and taught her to speak the language. They went to church together every Sunday. Claudia was bullied in 6th grade about her dyslexia. She has a boyfriend of 3 years, Danny who has cheated on her in once in the past, but she chose to forgive him.
Here are some items that describe Claudia. Organize the items into the table provided in the place you believe is most appropriate. Then, choose 5 items (bullets) and explain why you put them in the sections you did. If you have items in each section, choose at least one from each section.
a.
Outgoing and talkative
b.
Struggles regulating her temper
c.
Ambitious
d.
GABA deficiency
e.
Enjoys old French cinema
f.
Has mild depression
g.
Dyslexic
h.
Favorite musical artists: Beyoncé and Radiohead
i.
Loves the snow
j.
Has a 3.9 GPA
k.
Has an IQ of 120
l.
Loves Chilean Empanadas
m.
Volunteers at an animal shelter on the weekends
n.
Low self-esteem
o.
Is attracted to men and women
p.
Has suffered on and off from Bulimia
q.
Is spiritual
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Nature
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Nature and Nurture |
Nurture |
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