Le 1
Le Quang Thanh Tue/ Scott
Mr. Jon Marshall
AP PSYCHOLOGY
SECTION II
Time—50 minutes
Percent of total grade—33 1/3
Directions: You have 50 minutes to answer BOTH of the following questions. It is not enough to answer a
question by merely listing facts. You should present a cogent argument based on your critical analysis of the
questions posed, using appropriate psychological terminology. Please note that if you do not know a term or
phrase here, you may look it up for purposes of adding to your knowledge and review.
1. Dimitri and Linda are trying to learn a new routine to compete successfully in a dance competition.
Give an example of how each of the following could affect their performance. Definitions without
application do not score.
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Extrinsic motivation
Punishment
Proactive interference
Endorphins
Vestibular system
Divergent thinking
Introversion
Extrinsic motivation is the desire to participate in an activity in order to obtain a reward. In this
case, it can be said that Dimitri and Linda are extrinsically motivated to practice a new routine so
that they could secure a prize from a dance competition. In other words, their motive is initiated by
an external positive reinforcement. As such, their performance and interest in the subject might be
endangered by overjustification, i.e. when external reinforcements discourage internal motivation.
However, that is not the case. True, they practice a new routine and join the dance contest primarily
due to an extrinsic motivation. Yet, since it is a competition, quality is vital; they must be able to
capture the imagination of the judges in a positive way in order to earn a prize. For this reason, their
extrinsic motivation does not necessarily harm their performance on stage. Nevertheless, they could
be more achieving if their motivation is intrinsic; in other words, they dance because they love
doing so and prizes are only of marginal importance.
Punishment is the introduction of an aversive stimulus (positive punishment) or the removal of a
desirable one (negative punishment) in order that an unwanted behavior is weakened. Punishment is
a component of operant learning. As such, it can be incorporated into the training program.
However, how it is applied is a matter of vital importance. Punishment, whatever the kind, must be
used precisely and consistently. Otherwise, the wrong message would be delivered. In addition, by
nature, punishment, especially positive punishment, has the potential to stimulate resentment and
anger. Consider: what would Linda think if Dimitri spanks her for her failure to imitate the rhythm.
Negative punishment is thus more appropriate in this particular situation. For example, if either of
them or both of them fail to meet their objectives according to schedule, they can stay late to
practice. In this scenario, the desirable stimuli – free time – is removed.
Proactive interference is a memory problem in which previously stored information disrupts the
storage of new items. Because they are practicing a new routine, Linda and Dimitri, who are likely
to have learned other routines, definitely have a chance of suffering from proactive interference.
They can alleviate the effects of this phenomenon by avoiding mentioning and thinking of any of
the moves and routines they learned before and spend a considerable amount of time practicing the
new routine till they truly master it.
Le 2
Endorphins are a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure and pain. People with a lot of
endorphins in their nervous systems suffer less from pain whereas those with only small amounts of
it in their brains suffer more. There definitely exist some potentially dangerous moves in a dance
routine, such as jumping. Consequently, accidents may happen, even for those who are already
familiar with such a routine. It would be ideal if both Linda and Dimitri have high amounts of this
neurotransmitter in their brains. If not, however, they really should have some ice ready in their
dance room. In addition, physical activities such as dancing can cause muscular sores due to lactic
acid buildups. Overtime, however, these sores reduce in intensity and eventually disappear. This is
not due to the increased availability of endorphins but the enhanced effectiveness of the body in
acquiring oxygen for cellular respiration.
Vestibular system detects the direction of gravity relative to the body’s position. Its equipment is
the semicircular canals located in the ears. For this reason, Linda and Dimitri need to ensure that
neither of them contracts an ear infection. If they do, they must be promptly treated. Otherwise,
they might feel dizzy, if the semicircular canal is affected, and would face unnecessary problems
practicing their new routine. In addition, if their routine contains moves such as spinning, their
sense of where “down” is would be affected as well. The reason is because the semicircular canals
do their job using a fluid. Where this fluid is concentrated indicates the direction of gravity. When
they spin, this fluid is constantly in energetic motion; as a result, neural messages confuse the brain.
They would, however, become less dizzy once this fluid settles down.
Divergent thinking is the ability to creatively make new associations and formulate original ideas. It
is therefore a requirement in dancing, a performing art. Linda and Dimitri do not need to stick to
their routine by the letter. Rather, they should enjoy the liberty of adjusting it for the sake of
aesthetic appeal or simply that of ease and safety. Divergent thinking is the opposite of functional
fixedness, a disease to any creative pursuit.
Introversion is the psychological tendency to focus on one’s inner thoughts and feelings rather than
external stimuli. Introverts in general tend to by shy and not particularly sociable. In this case,
however, both Linda and Dimitri need to be especially sociable to one another, if they are not
extraverts, for the sake of the assignment. If they are introverts, they are less likely to communicate
their thoughts to each other. That is not desirable in the case of dance practice because their routine
requires smooth cooperation from all involving parties. If they are outspoken, their collaboration
would be more efficient. For example, if Dimitri believes a certain move is two dangerous and
needs to be replaced, he needs to tell her to reduce the chance of a physical injury which can put
them behind schedule rather than stay silent.