Psych. Essays

ESSAY QUESTIONS

1. If I were to design a study to examine the effects of taking an online course, I would do a case study. I would find a subject and record their behavioral patterns during attendance at a university.   I would observe course load, study habits, length of study time, quality of assignments and overall grades. I would then do the same with an online course, studying the same patterns and behaviors.

2. Life is good. I am doing one of the activities that I most enjoy. I am taking a nice long walk in the woods. All of the sudden, a HUGE bear appears out of nowhere. This scary creature is standing 10 feet in front of me. He stops, glances at me as if debating whether to come close to me or not, and continues on.   I should feel better with his departure. But fear has already taken hold.   It must be some kind of spinal reflex.   My sensory nerves kick in. They see the scary bear, and send the message of fear to my spinal cord, where they are then transmitted to my brain.   Next, my motor nerves carry orders to my muscles, glands and other internal organs to actually react to what my sensory nerves say.   This all happens in a matter of seconds…..and I flee, to scared to even look back.

3. According to Wade and Tarvis (Pg. 17-19) Psychology has five major theoretical perspectives that each makes their own altruistic contributions to psychology.   The biological perspective, which studies the biological explanations of motivation, personality, social interaction, memory and psychological disorders. This approach is important in helping us understand the biological explanations of psychology.   The learning perspective stresses that people are unique and complex organisms and that each person is affected by their environments and experiences.   The learning approach is elemental in helping us understand the fields of personality, psychotherapy and motivation.   The third theoretical perspective, or approach, is the psychodynamic approach, which was greatly...