By the due date, answer one of the discussion questions listed on the next page. Submit your responses to the appropriate Discussion Area on the next page. Start reviewing and responding to at least two of your classmates as early in the week as possible. You can ask technical questions or respond generally to the overall experience. Be sure to be honest, clear, and concise. Always use constructive language, even in criticism, to work toward the goal of positive progress.
Peer responses are due by the end of the week.
The discussion questions for this task include:
- Compare and contrast the views of both Skinner and Chomsky in relation to language acquisition in children. Which view do you feel has the most credibility and why? Include examples of both to support your statements.
- In The Bell Curve, Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray argued that the nation cannot come to terms with its massive social problems until it confronts the role of intelligence. “How bright someone is, is the single variable that has the largest impact on income and social status,” argued Herrnstein. He further contended that low IQ is the most important factor relating to social ills such as crime, illegitimacy, and welfare dependency. What are your thoughts on these claims?
Defend or refute the statements based upon your reading or any other outside sources you can quote. All statements must be backed up with citable references that are to be included in your discussion.
There is so much being published about one’s genes and his/her intelligence quotient (IQ). How do genetic history, racial differences, environmental influences, and the Bell Curve connect to one’s genes and his/her IQ? (Be sure to include all in your response.) - Supply a personal definition for intelligence. Then, compare the psychometric approach of intelligence to the cognitive approach of intelligence. In respect to culture and heredity, how have intelligence tests affected you? What impact do IQ tests have on our culture? Explain in detail.
- What effects do opiates and psychedelic drugs have on human consciousness? How do drugs affect behavior at a physiological level and at a psychological level?
- Flashbulb memory: Why do we have some memories so vividly encoded (explain how the memory works)? What role does emotion play in these memories? How do these sorts of memories help us to survive and adapt in our culture and within the world throughout our lives? Explain how such memories are formed. Please share a flashbulb memory of your own as an example. For the purpose of this assignment, do not use national events (such as 9/11) as your example as they are often influenced by the media coverage and excessive social conversation.
- Mnemonic devices: Please provide a definition of a mnemonic device and then explain why people typically use memory tricks to help them remember things. Share some of your memory tricks, as well as some mentioned in the text. Explain, in theoretical terms, why they work. In other words, what does the literature say about why memory tricks work and how the brain processes these?
- This week, we learned about the concept of intelligence and, more specifically, Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Based on what you learned about intelligence this week, how does Gardner’s theory differ from traditional theories on intelligence? In your opinion, which is a stronger theory for how intelligence should be defined and tested? Please provide support for your answers.
- You have been asked to teach a course on creativity. How would you define creativity? What elements need to be present in order for something/someone to be creative? What strategies would you include in your course? Is it possible to teach someone to be creative, or are creative people simply born that way?
- In Chapter 7 of our textbook, we learned about encoding, storage, and retrieval as parts of an Information Processing Model. Describe the Information Processing Model and how it works. In addition, give an example of how you can use this model to study for quizzes and material required by your courses.
