Score: Full score. Completed within 50 mins.
1. Describe the role of each of the following mechanisms in determining an individual’s
eating habits and body weight
The biological mechanisms for an individual’s eating habits and body weight involves the
internal factors that are responsible, such as genetics and chemical tendencies within the body.
Brain chemistry in terms of the presence of leptin will influence eating habits. Low levels
will cause the body to eat while high levels will indicate that bodily needs were met.
Brain structure refers to the development of the brain that could influence one’s eating
habits and body weight. Because children may have less discipline and less development of the
frontal lobe for logical decision making, if a child is determining their eating habits, they may be
more inclined to have a sugar-dependent diet due to their biological tendencies, which can
cause a higher body weight.
Genetics refers to the heritable factors that influence the state of a person. In this case,
genetics may play a partial role in eating habits and body weight. One’s metabolism is partly
determined by genetic factors through gene expression, which can influence how fast fat is
accumulated in the body based on one’s eating habits.
The learning mechanisms for an individual’s eating habits and body weight involves the external
factors that influence one’s notions about food-related subjects.
Reinforcement in operant conditioning refers to rewarding someone for an action. If
parents utilize food as a means of reinforcement, then one’s eating habits will align to needing
food when a task is complete. Through this method, weight might increase as one would be
consuming more food.
Modeling refers to learning through observation. If parents show children the importance
and fulfillment of exercise, then the children will pursue similar activities. If parents carefully
select the food they eat and keep a balanced diet, the children will follow their lead as well,
which will promote a healthy eating habit and create a healthy body weight.
Cultural factors refer to social values that influence one’s state of being. If someone lives
in a society that perceives fatness as being a positive quality, then their eating habits will adjust
to eating as many calories as possible to conform to that image. As a result their body weight
will increase.
2.
a. Schema is a mental representation of an idea. In this case, one’s schema
regarding the general definition of an aggressor is associated with the man as
various other photographs are shown. The subsequent photos must’ve evoked
feelings of hostility being associated with the man which altered the schema and
perception of the man in a negative way.
b. Retroactive interference refers to how newly learned information affects learned
information. In this case, one probably learns that the man is a negative figure as
they process information from more photos, which causes them to alter their
previous perception of how the woman was the one that was yelling.
c. Representativeness heuristics refers to a mental shortcut involving that’s taken to
solve problems. In this case, it’s used to figure out the qualities of a person based
on their similarity to other figures/people. In this case, this is involved because
based on the appearance of a person, it may influence how their intentions are
perceived. For example, a man with an interpreted negative posture may hint
towards being someone abusive or negative based on the individual’s
experiences.
d. Confirmation bias is a mental error in which one seeks to prove the validity of
something. In this case, someone who thinks that the man is the aggressor will
continue to look for information that proves their claim, which can contribute to
the people that think that the man is the aggressor.
e. Framing refers to the way a situation is presented which influences interpretation.
Based on what the experimenters asked the participants, their responses were
influenced by the question. For example, if they ask how the man is in
disagreement can influence someone to actually think that the man is the one at
fault.