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Psychology 236 – Spring 2008 semester

Review for Examination III (May 1st)

Lifespan Development

Carolyn R. Fallahi, Ph. D.

School violence

  1. Why is it human nature to want to blame someone? How did politicians and the media handle the blame of Columbine? Give some examples.
  2. Can we account for a person’s behavior in complex situations? Use Zimbardo’s prison study to help answer this question.
  3. Can normal people act differently in abnormal situations? Use the massacre at Jonestown in 1978 and The Heaven’s Gate Suicides in 1997 as examples in your answer. What about Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold?
  4. What specifics about these two young men can we point to in understanding why it was difficult to predict their behavior?
  5. What about the Cassie Bernall story? Is this yet another example of the difficulty in predicting behavior? Explain.
  6. What was the potential role of media violence in this example? How does media violence affect young boys and girls?
  7. Is it easy/difficult to predict suicide or homicide if you are a trained professional? Explain.
  8. What is the gun argument according to Sociologist Dane Archer?
  9. What about adolescence? What is going on during adolescence that makes it more difficult for young boys and aggression?
  10. What is the role of emotional intelligence?
  11. What is the boy code? Explain.
  12. What are some of the gender differences with regards to violence and aggression that are prevalent in this society?
  13. Should we teach moral development in school? Please cite the studies involving the OregonHigh school and Olewus’ Norway project.
  14. What about the role of depression and adolescence?
  15. Please explain some of the similar issues in the Daniel Scruggs suicide case in Meriden.
  16. Know Kohlberg’s theory of Moral Development.
  17. Know the issues related to rejected, neglected, & popular children and adolescents.
  18. Review my 2 papers on Virginia Tech. You can download them off of blackboard vista. Know the basic conclusions of both papers!

Adolescence

  1. Who is likely to drop out of school, according to Robert & Beverly Cairns?
  2. Know Erikson’s theory of adolescence.
  3. Know Marcia’s adolescent identity formation – the 4 different identity statuses possible.

Media Violence

1. What are the predisposing factors that make some children more susceptible to the effects of media violence?

2. What does Bandura’s research teach us about modeling?

3. When children are allowed to view violence, they form social scripts and world schemas. What does this mean? What is a hostile attributional biasis?

4. Explain the desensitization theory.

5. Explain Huesmann’s social comparison theory.

6. Explain the third variable theory.

7. Define priming & general arousal.

8. What does the research say about gender differences in media violence?

9. Explain Walder’s longitudinal study on the effects of media violence.

10. Explain Huesmann’s longitudinal study on the effects of media violence across 5 countries where initial levels of aggression were controlled.

11. What are some of the factors that influence the outcome of early medial viewing for children?

12. What does habitual media violence viewing correlate with?

13. Why do we continue to put out violence in the media?

14. What is the V-chip experiment?

Divorce

1. What does it take to be “good enough” parents according to Scarr (1993)?

2. How is this theory different from Baumrind’s theory?

3. Does parenting differ between those who work and those who don’t? Is there a difference in the outcome of children?

4. What makes a good parent?

5. What did the grading mom survey have to say about what children want from parenting?

6. How do the relationships with siblings differ from those relationships with parents?

7. Within the divorce literature, why were the early studies flawed?

8. What do the current researchers say about divorce?

9. How do children fare with divorce?

10. Gender differences with divorce? Age differences?

11. What do the father absent studies have to say about childhood adjustment?

12. What does the research say about cohabitation?

Parenting & Gender

1. Understand Baumrind’s theory of parenting.

2. What does the scientific evidence say about the effectiveness or risk to children raised by Gay & Lesbian parents?

3. What does the research say about comparisons of Lesbian Mothers to Heterosexual Mothers? Divorced & single mothers?

4. Are children who are raised with Gay & Lesbian parents more likely to show gender issues and/or a higher prevalence of homosexuality?

5. Know the following definitions: prejudice, discrimination, stereotypes, & unintentional racism.

6. What is the difference between sex and gender?

7. Understand the social discourse on gender (the socialized way we think about gender).

Readings for the 3rd exam: Pay careful attention to the following: (1) chapter 11 - I won't cover the trait theories or the big Five factors of personality, but I'll expect you to know them. (2) Chapter 12 - psychoanalytic theory of gender versus social role theory. (3) sexually transmitted infections. (4) sexual identity. (5) Chapter 13 - moral development, parenting, & religion. (6) chapter 14 - parenting, cohabitation, divorce, step families, & sibling relationships. (7) chapter 15 - aging and the social world. (8) bullying. (9) chapter 17 - death & dying, especially Kubler & Ross' stages of dying, which I will not cover.

Primis Readings: make sure that you read the articles on divorce, gay and lesbian parents, maternal employment, the article on same-sex couples being allowed to marry, fathers, violent media, and viewing TV. You will be tested on the gist of the articles. Not covered for the 3rd exam in the Primis readings includes the Milgram and Stanford Prison study articles.