The lecture on Wednesday, August 29th, emphasized the importance of critical thinking in psychology, and the eight guidelines for critical thinking. For the following two examples, identify the critical thinking guideline(s) violated and describe how the situation or opinion might be changed if the violation had not occurred. (For example, in the situation, did the person ask questions or did he/she violate this guideline? If this guideline was violated, how might the person's opinion have changed if he/she had asked questions?) Try to identify all of the guidelines that were violated for each example.

1. Max always votes for candidates from the same political party because "that is how everyone in my family always votes."

2. Marge sees a woman loudly scolding a child in the supermarket. Marge is upset by what she has seen and comments to her friend that the woman "should not have children because she obviously has no patience with them."

Your neighbor ropes you into baby-sitting her 10 year-old son the night before a big psychology exam. You desperately need to study but the kid keeps pestering you with questions about the pictures in your textbook. Finally, you're hit with an inspiration! You decide to explain the exam material to the kid. How are you going to explain the information about neural anatomy, action potentials, and synaptic transmission to a 10 year-old? Remember that the kid won't understand many of the terms so you'll need to either define them clearly or relate them to something a typical 10 year-old would understand.

Write roughly a page answering one of the following questions.

1) If you had to lose one of your senses, which one would you want it to be and why?

2) If you could develop a "sixth sense," what would it be, and how would it work?

You have been given a copy of a MENSA test. Either complete the test or read through the test in order to answer the following question. Answer the following question in at least a page.

Do you think the MENSA test really tests intelligence? Why or why not?

For a 24-hour period, break an implicit social norm or expectation such as violating elevator etiquette, dressing differently than you normally would, cutting in line, or violating personal space norms (talking too closely or too far away). Do not commit illegal, obnoxious, injurious, or threatening acts!!! Write a one to two page report (typed please) about your experience including:

1) what norm you broke
2) why the norm is adhered to
3) how people responded to you
4) how you felt when you were violating the norm.

People often mistakenly use the term schizophrenia to describe multiple personality disorder (or split personality). In roughly a page, describe to your grandmother* the differences between the two disorders and why schizophrenia is not multiple or split personality.

*the phrase "describe to your grandmother" means that you should explain this without using a lot of psychological jargon so that anyone will be able to understand why schizophrenia is not the same as split/multiple personality. (We're not at all implying that your grandmother is dumb.)