Homework 2.5 Answers
Barbara thinks that she is a superior student with excellent writing and math skills. She frequently says so to her friends and sometimes ridicules other people's grades and test scores. She predicts that her SAT scores will be in the 2100s. When she finally takes the test, she's calm, alert, and eager to get a fantastic score. Afterwards she says that she feels great. Her scores come back in the 1200s. She explains that the test doesn't count because it's obviously scored wrong and, besides, she's not a good test taker.
This is an example of face-saving. First of all, by ridiculing other people's grades, she can loose many friends and people will grow to not like her. If she never takes responsibility for why she doesn't do well on certain things, she will never grow educationally and as a human being. If she continues with this attitude, she will not do any better, if not worse, the next time she takes the SAT.
Antonio is a college student who responds predictably to his scores on tests. If the score is high, he remarks that he hardly studied at all and that his score ranks among the highest in the class. If the scores are low, he says that the instructor grades unfairly, that the test was flawed, and that he intends to protest his grade to the grade-review committee.
This is face-saving. If he cannot accept that he is reason for his own bad test grades and blames others for it, he will never succeed in school. He will continue to receive bad test scores, which could lower his grades significantly. This could lead to not getting into a great college.
City assemblyman Jackson is in a position to cast the deciding vote on two proposals for the development of a new city park. Proposal 1 offers a parcel of land near the assemblyman's house, which affords him a beautiful view. Its drawbacks are that it costs twice as much as proposal 2 and cannot be easily accessed by most of the public. Proposal 2 suggests a parcel of land near the center of town. It is convenient to the public, has a more beautiful setting, and will raise property values in the area. Assemblyman Jackson says that the obvious best choice is proposal 1.
This is face-saving. If he does not start to take responsibility for his bad test grades and blames others for it, he will never succeed in school. He will continue to receive bad test scores, which could lower his grades significantly. This could lead to not getting into a great college.
David and Max are in a heated debate about the theory of biological evolution. David rejects the theory in favor of creationism, which says that life on earth was created or facilitated by a supreme intelligence. Max rejects creationism in favor of evolution. David marshals an abundance of facts that seem to prove his case. In addition, he alleges that evolution is false because there are huge gaps in the fossil record suggesting that there has never been a smooth, tidy progression of species from earlier forms to later forms. Max has no answer for this fossil-record gap argument and looks exasperated. David is about to declare victory when Max suddenly begins to quote the research findings of reputable biologists showing that there really are no gaps. After the debate some of Max's friends quietly congratulate him for being clever enough to quote research findings that are fictitious.
This is face-saving. Max does not come with more reliable evidence to argue his side, but instead just throws out a quote. Max needs to learn to heavily research information to argue his theories and hypotheses or else he will have a difficult time in the future proving his arguments. Next time, he might not be able to throw out a quote, which will publicly embarrass him.
Sheila is a bright medical scientist. For years she has been working on a series of clinical studies that could establish her favorite medical hypothesis— that high doses of vitamin E can cure skin cancer. Each study in the series has added more evidence suggesting that the hypothesis is probably true. The last study in the series is crucial. It is a much larger study than the others, and it will confirm or invalidate the usefulness of vitamin E for skin cancer. When the study is completed, she examines the data. Instead of confirming her hypothesis, the study suggests not only that her pet idea is unfounded but also that the doses of vitamin E used are toxic, causing terrible side effects in patients. She concludes, though, that the study results do not disconfirm her hypothesis but are merely inconclusive.
This is self-interest thinking. Her ego gets in the way of accepting that her hypothesis is inaccurate and can cause immense harm in the future. If she goes through with giving high doses of vitamin E, she will not only not cure skin cancer, but cause enormous injury to patients. This could subsequently kill her patients if she is not careful with her hypothesis.
