Psychology Module #13: Culture, Gender, and Other Environmental Influences

After rats were housed for 60 days in enriched environments, Bryan Kolb and Ian Whishaw (1998) reported that the rats' brain weight increased:

7 to 10 percent

Karen, a research assistant at the university psychology lab, finds that the mice cortices she is studying are thinner and lighter. What happened?

They were raised in deprived environments

Even if the musician Stevie Wonder had his vision restored by a miracle surgery, he probably would not get his eyesight back because:

Brain cells normally devoted to vision have died or been diverted to other uses

If a child loses vision, his or her brain will respond by using the area previously devoted to vision for other abilities. This is an example of _____.

Brain plasticity

Workers at the Ito motor plant are willing to work long hours and put the company's success ahead of their own as they are from a(n) __________________ culture.

Collectivist

The average woman is different from the average man in which of the following ways?

She is 5 inches shorter

Dr. Kim is interested in studying the differences in gender development in individualist versus collectivist cultures. According the biopsychosocial approach, Dr. Kim is studying the _____ influences on gender.

Social-cultural

John Locke thought that humans begin life as blank slates. Research has revealed that:

The brain has some pre-determined wiring but is strongly influenced by the environment

The effects of culture are largely invisible to a person within that culture, unless:

The person's views are in conflict with the culture

With respect to today's gender roles, which of the following is NOT true?

Women spend more time today on housework than they did in the mid-1960s

Professor Smith emphasizes that gender similarities and differences are products of a continuous interplay among genetically predisposed traits, culturally shaped roles, and personally constructed expectations and assumptions. The professor's emphasis best illustrates:

A biopsychosocial approach

Understanding gender differences in behavior as a result of the interplay of gender roles, sex hormones, and individual experiences is most clearly provided by:

A biopsychosocial approach

In some countries, toddlers in strollers are routinely parked outside of shops or restaurants, while parents do business within. But in the United States this behavior is not acceptable and may even lead to criminal charges. This is an example of:

A difference in cultural norms

When scientists compared the brains of rats raised in an enriched environment with the brains of rats raised in an impoverished environment, the rats raised in an enriched environment had:

A larger number of synapses

Dr. Ramirez studies the effects of stress on pregnant mothers and how this stress may influence gender expression in children. According to the biopsychosocial approach, Dr. Ramirez is studying the _____ influences on gender.

Biological

Although they beg and plead, a preschooler's parents have zero success in coaxing him to eat broccoli. The parents might try to use peer influence by:

Asking his daycare center to serve broccoli and seating him with classmates who like to eat it

Ilana's married friend Gwen is quite upset. She asks her why she, rather than her husband, is always the one who cooks, cleans, and takes care of the children the majority of the time. Ilana tells her all of the following EXCEPT that:

Employed women have more time to devote to taking care of the children

In agricultural societies, children typically socialize into more distinct gender roles than do children in nomadic societies. This best illustrates that gender-role differences between social groups result from:

Cultural influence

_______________ represents the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions that are shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Culture

Compared to 1960, today's culture has all of the following EXCEPT for a:

Decreasing rate of depression

Although growing up on the South Side of Chicago was rough for Lee Ray, he was able to work hard in school, keep out of trouble, and graduate college this past year. Which of the following is most likely NOT to be a reason for his success?

His parents were not involved in his life

People with autism have a tendency to be aloof, so that they keep a distance from others that feels emotionally manageable to them. Others, in turn, are likely to maintain that interpersonal distance. In this case, aloofness is a(n) _____ trait.

Evocative

The tendency to emphasize the impact of parents' child-rearing practices on children's personality has been most characteristic of:

Freudian psychologists

_____ assumes that children conceptualize what it means to be male or female and then they adjust their behavior accordingly

Gender Schema Theory

Because he believes that crying is a feminine trait, 14-year-old George has difficulty admitting that a movie makes him tearful. His experience best illustrates dynamics highlighted by:

Gener schema

Shared environmental influences (for example, the shared home environment of two siblings) generally account for ____________ percent of the differences in children's personality characteristics.

Less than 10

How much credit can an average parent take for their child's success?

Little; achievements of children who received adequate but not stellar parenting are their own doing

In a group discussion, women are ________ likely than men to express support for others' opinions. As group leaders, women are ________ likely than men to promote a democratic leadership style.

More; more

Laurie and Jim are visiting Laurie's brother and wife, who recently moved to Italy. During the first day of their visit, Laurie's brother and wife hosted a dinner party to introduce Jim and Laurie to their neighbors. When introduced, Jim extended his arm to shake the neighbors' hand and instead they reached over and kissed him on each cheek. This happened with each of the introductions during the evening. This type of greeting is an example of a(n):

Norm

Pamela is a 15-year-old white teen who lives in the suburbs. She is likely to have her _____ influence her clothing selection and her _____ influence her college choice.

Peers; parents

Aggression is defined in psychology as:

Physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone

Among humans, innovations in behavior and ideas are preserved and transmitted from one generation to another primarily through:

Preservation of innovation

According to researchers, preschoolers who dislike a certain food despite their parent's urging often will eat the food if:

Put at a table with a group of preschoolers who like it

Juan is a Puerto Rican boy who currently lives in Manhattan with his mother who speaks very little English. Juan attends school with bilingual peers and English-speaking teachers. How well will he speak English?

The same as his peers

A local high school is running an experiment with a colony of infant rats. Half of the infant rats are isolated in barren cages and the other half live together in an enriched environment with lots of rat toys and exercise equipment. What would the expected outcome be at the end of the school year?

The rats in the enriched environment will have significantly larger cerebral cortices