Take Home Psychology Essays

Exam IV

2^nd Trimester

Name: __________________________ February, 2013

Since this is a take-home exam, please type your answers. I suggest you make an outline of how you would answer the questions if you did not have access to your book or notes. Then, use those resources to help you complete the essays. Your responses should be clear, complete, and they should be written in sentences….not in outline form.

ESSAY I: (15 points)

In answering this question, be sure to respond to all portions of the question and use examples to help clarify your answer. (15 points)

Mrs. Boca, a third grade teacher at a local elementary school is tearing her hair out. One of her students, Marcy, is completely out of control in the classroom. Specifically, she constantly asks questions or makes comments without raising her hand. Mrs. Boca consistently scolds her when she speaks out of turn, but this hasn’t seemed to work. Not only has Marcy’s bad behavior not decreased in frequency, but it seems to be getting worse. Mrs. Boca has finally come to you, the school counselor, to ask for help.

A. Provide a theory as to why Mrs. Boca’s scolding has led to even worse behavior from Marcy. (1 point)

B. Using operant conditioning principles, explain how Mrs. Boca could reduce Marcy’s disruptive behavior (speaking without being called on) through the use of: 1) punishment and 2) extinction. Then explain how she could increase cooperative behavior (raising her hand and waiting to be called on by her teacher) through the use of: 3) positive reinforcement and 4) negative reinforcement. In each case, provide a general definition of each technique (4 points) and specific examples of how you would implement each technique (4 points).

C. After Mrs. Boca has successfully changed Marcy’s behavior, you suggest that she place Marcy on a partial schedule of reinforcement in order to best maintain the new behavior. First, define each of the four schedules (i.e., fixed ratio, fixed interval, variable ratio, and variable interval) (4 points). Then, select one of the two schedules MOST RESISTANT TO EXINCTION and specifically describe how Mrs. Boca could implement the technique in her classroom (2 points).

Essay II (on back)

Essay II: (10 points)

You have been hired to construct a test that assesses the level of “business sense” in high school students. You suspect that “business sense” aptitude in high school will correlate with yearly income in middle age. Describe how you would construct your test. In your answer, be sure to define each of the following: (5 points)

Reliability

Face validity

Content validity

Predictive validity (be sure to identify the criterion)

Standardization

Then, describe how each would be used in the construction of your test. To get full credit you need to describe how you would determine if your test was reliable, content valid, etc. (5 points) YOU DO NOT NEED TO ACTUALLY CREATE THE TEST!