Final Review

Final Exam: Thursday, December 6th, 10:00-11:3

Topics

Schema and heuristics

Cognitive dissonance

Attributions

Fundamental attribution error

Biases: actor, self-serving, negativity, optimistic, confirmation, false uniqueness

Reasons for violence

Evidence for violence as genetically based

Nihilism

Free will and responsibility, link between choice and responsibility

Nietzsche and existentialism

Intuitions, especially physics, biology, psychology, number sense, language

Perception, including art and Cezanne lecture

Moral sense, utilitarianism and stages of moral development

Aesthetic universals, music, Stravinsky

Some Possible Questions 

1. Define schema and heuristic. What are the differences?

2. Provide an example of the fundamental attribution error.

3. What are some adaptive reasons for violence?

4. Are humans by nature violent animals? Be sure to support your answer with information from the text and lecture.

5. What is cognitive dissonance?  Provide an example of it.

6. Explain the model of Utilitarianism, and compare/contrast it with the information contained in the Stages of Moral Development theory.

7. What does Pinker mean by “intuitions,” and why do they matter to the study of human nature? Use the example of mathematical intuition to discuss.

8. Discuss the connection between Cezanne's paintings and the science of perception.

9. Discuss at least two of the items from Ramachandran’s list of aesthetic  universals, using the music of Stravinsky to explain.

10. Do you think that humans have free will? What are the social consequences of your opinion? Be sure that you give your definition of “free will,” and that you use ideas from the readings and from lectures to back up your opinion.