Psy_103_Week_5_Critical_and_Creative_Thinking_Ii

Critical and Creative Thinking Questions II Jane Doe Psy 103 Dr. Such and Such 1. Have you ever changed a strongly held attitude' What caused the change for you' I once was very ill-tempered. I can recall having a bad attitude as a baby. My memory does go back as far as being a baby in a high chair. Once I began school I did not understand why I was getting in trouble so many times. If I came across schoolwork that I did not understand and the teacher appeared to not want to help, I would become so angry I would say mean things and hurt people’s feelings. An old mentor of mine explained to me how people feel whenever you take your day out on them and since then I have I began to be careful about the way I treated people. 2. Do you believe that you are free of prejudice' After reading this chapter, which of the many factors that cause prejudice do you think is most important to change' I would say I have come a long way but I doubt anyone is completely free of prejudice. One of the biggest things that causes prejudice is being unaware. Whenever a person will critic another person or an object and not actually know the circumstances or the condition, prejudice can occur. The causes of prejudices go from complete ignorance to atmosphere. Some people become prejudiced because of incorrect beliefs of labels and some acquire it because of the way they were brought up. Ignorance can be overcome with knowledge if that person decides to seek knowledge. 3. How do Milgram's results—particularly the finding that the remoteness of the victim affected obedience—relate to some aspects of modern warfare' The nearer the intended target is, most likely they will hardly want to cause any actual destruction. Weapons of all sorts are methods to hold the target at a “secure” space from the competitor. At this present time, a competitor still does not have to go out on to the area of conflict to get rid his opponent. I am certain that this tactic of defense also grant the individual, who is merely being dutiful, a clear frame of mind when they decide to go back into their habitat (Krueger, J. I., & Funder, D. C. 2004). 4. What are some of the similarities between Zimbardo's prison study and the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq' Throughout the Standford prison experiment, the students that were granted the privilege of being the guard took advantage of that privilege and handled the students who were imprisoned very cruelly and demeaning. This also happened to the soldiers at the prison Abu Ghraib. With the authority they had as soldiers, they could abuse and degrade the prisoners in tactics that were ignored by other soldiers. These examples of cruelty of authority might and probably have gave ongoing psychological influences on the prisoners concerned (Wray, H. 2007). 5. Have you ever done something in a group that you would not have done if you were alone' What happened' How did you feel' What have you learned from this chapter that might help you avoid this behavior in the future' I can recall picking on someone back when I was nine years old. A group of my friends and I picked on that person because they had to wear a cap in class because they had a bald spot due to a fungus from wearing hair extensions for a long time. Our class had a substitute and we lied to her and said the student had to take her hat of. I would have never done such a thing if I were alone. I felt so horrible afterwards. I would not necessarily say reading this chapter would “help” me to avoid from doing such a thing again. It is more because of maturity I would never do it again. 6. Can you think of situations when the egoistic model of altruism seems most likely correct' What about the empathy-altruism hypothesis' One example when the egoistic model of altruism seems correct is helping someone in need in order to not stress about it. There is nothing wrong with being self-conscious in my opinion. The empathy-altruism hypothesis is based on the motivation linked with feeling empathy for someone in distress being targeted to the main purpose of aiding that individual, not for some elusive method of self-gain. The empathy-altruism hypothesis suggests that inspiration is pointed toward the purpose of eluding society’s or personal reprimand. References Krueger, J. I., & Funder, D. C. (2004). Towards a balanced social psychology: Causes, consequences, and cures for the problem-seeking approach to social behavior and cognition. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 27(3), 313-27; discussion 328-76. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/212293974'accountid=458 Wray, H. (2007, Mar). Networker news, the heart of the matter. Psychotherapy Networker, 31, 0. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/233322013'accountid=458