Assignments: Critical Reasoning Essays: Select 1 of the following 5 topics and prepare a multi-paragraph essay (at least four paragraphs). Include results from class materials, readings and research on the topic. Provide a hard copy of the completed essay to me; emailed submissions are preferred. The essay must be submitted by the eleventh week of the term (last regular class meeting).
Topics to choose from:
1.) Neural Pathway
2.) Learning Process
3.) Operant Conditioning and Modifying a Behavior 4.) Stages of Development: Understanding Yourself 5.) Psychological Disorders
Critical Reasoning Essay Prompts
Choose any one from the following essay prompts. Essays should be submitted during the term after the appropriate material has been covered in class lectures. No papers will be accepted after the eleventh week of the term. Your essay can be submitted earlier than the suggested deadline.Your essay is worth 100 points. Department policy does not accept late assignments; therefore, if the assignment is not turned in on time, you will receive “0” points for that assignment.
1) Neural Pathways
Choose any neural pathway you feel passionate about like the visual pathway, auditory pathway, olfactory pathway, etc., and describe how the pathway travels from the stimuli through the nervous system. Then, explain how the environment (experiences) may have an effect on how stimuli may be perceived. Example: If you were to choose the visual pathway and you were raised around snakes as pets, first describe the visual pathway from stimulus to occipital lobe, and how would a picture of a snake (the stimulus) travel from the occipital lobe to other parts of the brain like the limbic system (specific parts of the limbic system) to the cortex and how might your autonomic nervous system react.
2) Learning Process
Describe how learning is accomplished from stimuli to processing. Here you don’t have to be specific with the neural pathways if you choose not to, but you do have to identify the brain components responsible for learning. What I am looking for is that you understand the different components, modalities, and how to optimize your time to learn material presented during your academic career.
3) Operant Conditioning and Modifying a Behavior
Drawing on personal experience, choose a person whose behavior you want to change. You may select one of your own behaviors for this question. How could you use operant conditioning to change the less desirable behavior into the desired behavior?
