Psychology

The Final Essay Examination will cover the material we have studied in Modules 5 – 8. You will need to answer four essay questions, each question requires a three to five paragraph (250 – 500 word) using the correct vocabulary related to the topic. Your answers need to be supported with information from the textbook or other appropriate sources such as peer-reviewed (professional) journal articles. Do NOT use wikipedia or other encyclopedias, dictionaries or online sources such as Ask.com. Be sure to us APA style citations to show where sources were used in your response. For sources other than the textbook, please list them as references at the end in APA format.

1.After returning from a shopping trip with his mother, little Tommy reported, “I goed to the store and eated candy.” Why might a behaviorist such as B. F. Skinner have had some difficulty explaining Tommy’s incorrect grammatical construction? What sort of theory could explain the errors? What would that explanation be?

2.Latisha’s history teacher asked her why so many German people complied with Hitler’s orders to systematically slaughter millions of innocent Jews and others. Latisha suggested that the atrocities were committed because the Germans had become unusually cruel, sadistic people with abnormal twisted personalities. Use your knowledge of the fundamental attribution error to highlight the weaknesses of Latisha’s reasoning and then propose an alternative explanation.

3.Abraham Maslow suggested that, “a person who is lacking food, love, and self-esteem would most likely hunger for food more strongly than anything else.” Conversely, the novelist Dostoyevski wrote, “without a firm idea of himself and the purpose of his life, man cannot live even if surrounded with bread.” What evidence from the field of psychology might support each statement?

4.Geraldo, a second-year college student, is so fearful of medical procedures that he has avoided routine dental checkups for over three years. He has recently decided to seek help in overcoming his fear. Compare and contrast (what are the similarities and differences) the methods that would be used by (a) a behavior therapist and (b) a psychoanalytic therapist.