Foundations of psychology Essay Example for Free

Foundations of psychology Essay (a) Conceptually, reasoning is characterized by various attitudes, emotions, feelings or even assumptions. These are the psychological factors that occur psychologically as parameters that help to develop a logical conclusion in ones reasoning. Rationality in reasoning is what yields a final resolution. However, such reasoning is brought to a state of imbalance in which the different assumptions, feelings and attitudes tend to shape the outcome responses. Perhaps however, each of the attributes could be controlled by aspects of various stimuli that respond to the three stage of classical conditioning. Initially, an aspect of anxiety of wanting to create some reflective thinking occurs. This is because of the desire to come to a logical conclusion of the problem held in the reasoning. The unconditioned stimulus before the reasoning was to arrive at a phenomenon based on the results of the reasoning. The driving force then throws an imbalance in the cognitive state of the brain senses with a basic aim of arriving towards an imperative solution based on the foundations of the question in the reasoning. A state of confusion occurs basically due to inability of making the correct choice of solutions. The solution should be independent of the external environment. Additionally, the choices to the solution also consider that reasoning may have various solutions. However, a conflict exists between the set of decisions alternatives due to the inability of making the most rational decision instantly. However, the principles of classical conditioning help to develop various stimuli corresponding to the various decision alternatives. Each stimulus (like a defensive censor) evokes one another to finally reach at an equilibrium consensus which the cognitive personality chooses as the best decision variable (Anne, 1999) A state of ambivalence follows the above stage of confusion. Ambivalence develops from the emotional perceptions and seeks to give a feeling of no specific inclination in any of the decision alternatives persuaded in the reasoning process. This is however a defense mechanism since it denies the strong efforts of strong feelings in the decision alternatives thus lessening the probable pain which one would have encountered in decision making (Michael, 1977) (b) Role of memory in reasoning The human memory is an important element in cognitive reasoning. Memory is what aligns the different aspects involved in reasoning to yield a correspondence between one another. The attitudes, feelings and assumptions ought to be construed in a dimension that brings reflective ties to one another. Memory can be said as the pivot entry between the functional relationships in all elements that define reasoning. The fundamental scope of reasoning is comprised of various complimentary processes that depend on one another. The philosophical and psychological standpoints have pinpointed on memory and reasoning as working in an integrated system and none can replace one another. Memory acts as an object that brings a tie and conjoins the various independent processes that are involved in the process of reasoning. It is also the object that provides subjective interactions and explorations among the wide scope of the cognitive processes to arrive at a balance of interest which is the defining choice/decision variable of the reasoning process (Thomson, 2001) Conceptually, the association that exists in human reasoning is brought about by the organization and content interaction of the human memory. It helps to bring about a scope of interpretation about the various processes that are involved in the human cognition. Consequently, memory is influential as a trajectory object for the integration of the various processes in the reasoning processes that finally strikes a balance in the choice of decision to follow. (c) Obstacles in reasoning There are various obstacles that could hinder the process of effective reasoning. These include; Mental entrenchment: This is a situation that occurs when the mind is framed in models that represent various problems, problem contexts or perhaps the possible procedures for use in solving a particular problem. When a person involved in reasoning has entrenched mind sets, they may develop methods that creates a solution to the problem in question but which does not provide the most optimal and effective solutions to such problems (Mark, 2007) Either, functional fixedness is an obstacle in effective thinking/reasoning. This case arises when an individual who has an ability of doing specific things extends such methods in creating the decisions in reasoning. He is unable to develop methodologies that addresses a certain problem in question but rather has to refer to what models his/her mind (Mark, 2007) Stereotypes: Stereotypes are those fundamental generalizations that are unsupported by rationality held by the members within a certain setting or the contemporary society. Stereotypes could be learned during childhood. Individuals accustomed to various senses of stereotypical thinking always make generalized choice and decisions in their reasoning process. Negative transfers: This is the condition when the procedures that are to be used in solving a current problem occurs in the future as harder problems that are perhaps unsolvable. This is a contrast of positive transfer that implies the former process for solving gone problems make the current problem easy to solve. These obstacles are highly involved in obstructing the critique of critical and effective thinking by bringing the wrong illusions and impressions in the reasoning process. (d) Types of reasoning involved in the experience Generally, there are various reasoning involved in an experience. Each differs in terms of flow of precepts and hypothetical developments. The process of reasoning within the given set of experience is important in giving the rationality behind the choice of one decision at the expense of the others. However, various types of reasoning are used in the reasoning process. These include; Abduction: This is the process through which a hypothesis statement about an experience is made. It seeks to formulate the fundamental scope of levels with which such a problem/experience occurs and the possible influential factors behind it. The cause and the effect reasoning: This is the mode of reasoning which seeks to relate the starting point of an experience or a problem of interest. It involves establishing the causes and effects and then trying to relate how each affects one another or how each is related to the other. (Manktelow, 1999) Comparative reasoning: This is the reasoning precept that seeks to draw a comparative analogy by comparing and relating one thing with the corresponding alternative. It then seeks to strike a balance of stability between such relationships. Deductive reasoning: It is the reasoning that involves establishing the generalized parameters and then moving towards a drive in the specific rules. Inductive reasoning: This is that which involves establishing the specific parameters and then driving towards the generalized rules. (e) Methods of enhancing effective reasoning in this experience. Critical thinking is that which goes beyond logical reasoning. It is that which works towards scrutinizing arguments by support of empirical evidence. Enhancing reasoning is a combination of various tools that promote the cognitive precepts of the human brain. These include; Physical exercise: Physical exercise is highly supportive in the functionality of the brain. A functional brain is a brain that has the cognitive power of critical and effective reasoning. Taking physical exercise helps to refresh the nervous system whose central context is the brain faculty (Robert, 1991) Taking adequate sleep: It is of necessity that a person takes enough sleep that brings relaxation to the reasoning and thinking autonomies. The mind set that could be infiltrated by sleep and stress is prone to inadequate reasoning. Various decisions by the human reasoning can only be ploughed in by a sober and a relaxed cognitive personality. Neurofeedback process: This is the process through which the precepts of human reasoning are controlled by reflecting back to what presumes a certain reasoning obligation. It is the sensational process of developing a raw feedback to the mind that causes fatal relaxation before engaging into fresh models of reasoning (Anne, 1999) Avoiding reasoning distracters: This is achieved through adequate payment of attention. Though a complex pattern involved in the brain function, it can be ensured by the proper payment of attention to the reasoning process that would then help to withdraw all possible abstractions and therefore driving towards concrete decisions. Reference Anne, T (1999) Critical Reasoning in Ethics. London, Routledge Manktelow, K (1999) Reasoning and Thinking. London. Psychology Press Mark, R (2007) The Psychology of Reasoning, London, Routeldge. Michael, S (1977) Reasoning. New York, McGraw Hill Robert, A (1991) Practical Reasoning. London, Routledge Thomson, A (2001) Critical Reasoning: A Practical Introduction. London, Routlege

Graduation Speech: Christ is Still the Only Way :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

For the last 18 years or so, we have been influenced and directed by parents, teachers, and other authority figures. We have been told when to get up, when to work, when to play, when to eat, sleep, come home, go out, etc., etc., etc. Now we are moving on. As we do, let me remind you of two principles we have been taught, the principle of freedom and the principle of success. As adults, a whole new world of personal freedom awaits us. Freedom is a wonderful gift. It is similar to a coin with two sides. Those of us with a driver's license understand these two concepts every time we get into a car. In your car, where you go, how fast you go, and what route you will take are all up to you. You are free to make those choices. However, this freedom also means that you must be responsible. Why does the law require that we have insurance? Because the moment you take control of the vehicle, you become accountable for every one of your actions until your vehicle reaches its destination. You have the freedom to go as fast as you want, but the law will discipline you if you go too fast. You have freedom to take any road you want, but not every road will take you to your desired destination. Life is very much like driving. You are free to choose any one of the many options before you both now and in the future, but not every option will take you where God would want you to go. Proverbs 16:9: The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. You can choose to live in the so-called "fast lane" without any sense of responsibility, but are you ready to pay the price? Proverbs 14:12: There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. In order to remain truly free you must learn to balance personal choices with biblical responsibility. Live your life to the fullest, mindful that we will all someday give an account to God for our actions. As you enjoy this tremendous gift called freedom, stay accountable to God because that's the only way to maximize your potential for success. This brings me to my second point. Most people don't really understand success, at least not as the Bible defines it.

Finance Test Bank

Chapter 9 Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. _e___1. Schalheim Sisters Inc. has always paid out all of its earnings as dividends; hence, the firm has no retained earnings. This same situation is expected to persist in the future. The company uses the CAPM to calculate its cost of equity, and its target capital structure consists of common stock, preferred stock, and debt. Which of the following events would REDUCE its WACC? a. The market risk premium declines. b. The flotation costs associated with issuing new common stock increase. . The company's beta increases. d. Expected inflation increases. e. The flotation costs associated with issuing preferred stock increase. __c__2. Duval Inc. uses only equity capital, and it has two equally-sized divisions. Division A's cost of capital is 10. 0%, Division B's cost is 14. 0%, and the corporate (composite) WACC is 12. 0%. All of Division A's projects are equally risky, as are all of Division B's projects. However, the projects of Division A are less risky than those of Division B. Which of the following projects should the firm accept? a. A Division B project with a 13% return. . A Division B project with a 12% return. c. A Division A project with an 11% return. d. A Division A project with a 9% return. e. A Division B project with an 11% return. 2010 Fall Chapter 10 ___b_3. You are considering two mutually exclusive, equally risky, projects. Both have IRRs that exceed the WACC. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? Assume that the projects have normal cash flows, with one outflow followed by a series of inflows. a. If the two projects' NPV profiles do not cross, then there will be a sharp conflict as to which one should be selected. . If the cost of capital is greater than the crossover rate, then the IRR and the NPV criteria will not result in a conflict between the projects. The same project will rank higher by both criteria. c. If the cost of capit al is less than the crossover rate, then the IRR and the NPV criteria will not result in a conflict between the projects. The same project will rank higher by both criteria. d. For a conflict to exist between NPV and IRR, the initial investment cost of one project must exceed the cost of the other. e.For a conflict to exist between NPV and IRR, one project must have an increasing stream of cash flows over time while the other has a decreasing stream. If both sets of cash flows are increasing or decreasing, then it would be impossible for a conflict to exist, even if one project is larger than the other. 2010 Fall, FIN 6100, Chapter 11, iClicker Questions __e__1. Which of the following is NOT a relevant cash flow and thus should not be reflected in the analysis of a capital budgeting project? a. Changes in net working capital. b. Shipping and installation costs. c. Cannibalization effects. . Opportunity costs. e. Sunk costs that have been expensed for tax purposes. __a__3. Which of t he following should be considered when a company estimates the cash flows used to analyze a proposed project? a. The new project is expected to reduce sales of one of the company's existing products by 5%. b. Since the firm's director of capital budgeting spent some of her time last year to evaluate the new project, a portion of her salary for that year should be charged to the project's initial cost. c. The company has spent and expensed $1 million on R associated with the new project. d.The company spent and expensed $10 million on a marketing study before its current analysis regarding whether to accept or reject the project. e. The firm would borrow all the money used to finance the new project, and the interest on this debt would be $1. 5 million per year. __c__4. Dalrymple Inc. is considering production of a new product. In evaluating whether to go ahead with the project, which of the following items should NOT be explicitly considered when cash flows are estimated? a. The com pany will produce the new product in a vacant building that was used to produce another product until last year.The building could be sold, leased to another company, or used in the future to produce another of the firm's products. b. The project will utilize some equipment the company currently owns but is not now using. A used equipment dealer has offered to buy the equipment. c. The company has spent and expensed for tax purposes $3 million on research related to the new detergent. These funds cannot be recovered, but the research may benefit other projects that might be proposed in the future. d. The new product will cut into sales of some of the firm's other products. . If the project is accepted, the company must invest $2 million in working capital. However, all of these funds will be recovered at the end of the project's life. __e__7. A firm is considering a new project whose risk is greater than the risk of the firm's average project, based on all methods for assessing risk . In evaluating this project, it would be reasonable for management to do which of the following? a. Increase the estimated IRR of the project to reflect its greater risk. b. Increase the estimated NPV of the project to reflect its greater risk. c.Reject the project, since its acceptance would increase the firm's risk. d. Ignore the risk differential if the project would amount to only a small fraction of the firm's total assets. e. Increase the cost of capital used to evaluate the project to reflect its higher-than-average risk. Chapter 12 iClicker Questions __b__1. Which of the following assumptions is embodied in the AFN equation? a. None of the firm's ratios will change. b. Accounts payable and accruals are tied directly to sales. c. Common stock and long-term debt are tied directly to sales. d. Fixed assets, but not urrent assets, are tied directly to sales. e. Last year's total assets were not optimal for last year's sales. __b__2. The term â€Å"additional funds needed (AFN) † is generally defined as follows: a. Funds that are obtained automatically from routine business transactions. b. Funds that a firm must raise externally from non-spontaneous sources, i. e. , by borrowing or by selling new stock to support operations. c. The amount of assets required per dollar of sales. d. The amount of internally generated cash in a given year minus the amount of cash needed to acquire the new assets needed to support growth. . A forecasting approach in which the forecasted percentage of sales for each balance sheet account is held constant. _b___4. A company expects sales to increase during the coming year, and it is using the AFN equation to forecast the additional capital that it must raise. Which of the following conditions would cause the AFN to increase? a. The company previously thought its fixed assets were being operated at full capacity, but now it learns that it actually has excess capacity. b. The company increases its dividend payout ratio. c. The company begins to pay employees monthly rather than weekly. . The company's profit margin increases. e. The company decides to stop taking discounts on purchased materials. Chapter 13 iClicker Questions Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. __b__1. Which of the following statements is NOT CORRECT? a. The corporate valuation model can be used both for companies that pay dividends and those that do not pay dividends. b. The corporate valuation model discounts free cash flows by the required return on equity. c. The corporate valuation model can be used to find the value of a division. . An important step in applying the corporate valuation model is forecasting the firm's pro forma financial statements. e. Free cash flows are assumed to grow at a constant rate beyond a specified date in order to find the horizon, or terminal, value. __a__2. Which of the following does NOT always increase a company's market value? a. Increasin g the expected growth rate of sales. b. Increasing the expected operating profitability (NOPAT/Sales). c. Decreasing the capital requirements (Capital/Sales). d. Decreasing the weighted average cost of capital. e.Increasing the expected rate of return on invested capital. _a___3. Which of the following is NOT normally regarded as being a barrier to hostile takeovers? a. Abnormally high executive compensation. b. Targeted share repurchases. c. Shareholder rights provisions. d. Restricted voting rights. e. Poison pills. Chapter 14 iClicker Questions Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. __d__1. Which of the following should not influence a firm's dividend policy decision? a. The firm's ability to accelerate or delay investment projects. . A strong preference by most shareholders for current cash income versus capital gains. c. Constraints imposed by the firm's bond indenture. d. The fact that much of the firm's equipment has bee n leased rather than bought and owned. e. The fact that Congress is considering changes in the tax law regarding the taxation of dividends versus capital gains. __a__2. Trenton Publishing follows a strict residual dividend policy. All else equal, which of the following factors would be most likely to lead to an increase in the firm's dividend per share? a. The firm's net income increases. b.The company increases the percentage of equity in its target capital structure. c. The number of profitable potential projects increases. d. Congress lowers the tax rate on capital gains. The remainder of the tax code is not changed. e. Earnings are unchanged, but the firm issues new shares of common stock. Chapter 15 iClicker Questions Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. _b___1. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. A firm's business risk is determined solely by the financial characteristics of its industry. b.The factors that affect a firm's business risk are affected by industry characteristics and economic conditions. Unfortunately, these factors are generally beyond the control of the firm's management. c. One of the benefits to a firm of being at or near its target capital structure is that this eliminates any risk of bankruptcy. d. A firm's financial risk can be minimized by diversification. e. The amount of debt in its capital structure can under no circumstances affect a company's business risk. __c__2. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. Increasing financial leverage is one way to increase a firm's basic earning power (BEP). . If a firm lowered its fixed costs while increasing its variable costs, holding total costs at the present level of sales constant, this would decrease its operating leverage. c. The debt ratio that maximizes EPS generally exceeds the debt ratio that maximizes share price. d. If a company were to issue debt and use the money to repurchase common stock, this act ion would have no impact on its basic earning power ratio. (Assume that the repurchase has no impact on the company's operating income. ) e. If changes in the bankruptcy code made bankruptcy less costly to orporations, this would likely reduce the average corporation's debt ratio. Chapter 23 Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. __e__1. Which of the following are NOT ways risk management can be used to increase the value of a firm? a. Risk management can increase debt capacity. b. Risk management can help a firm maintain its optimal capital budget. c. Risk management can reduce the expected costs of financial distress. d. Risk management can help firms minimize taxes. e. Risk management can allow managers to defer receipt of their bonuses and thus postpone tax payments.

Gender Roles And Norms Of The Movie Bros Before Hos, The...

Whether we recognize it or not, our everyday actions and ideas are directed by the â€Å"normal† actions of our gender. Although the last century has been the most revolutionary in terms of gender rights, gender norms and roles still continue to push back and damage every aspect of society. Both Michael Kimmel, author of the story â€Å"Bros Before Hos, The Guy Code† and Junot Dà ­az, author of the essay â€Å"How To Date A Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie† illustrate that gender roles and norms are incredibly detrimental to everyone in society. As a result, both texts implicitly explore how gender roles damage everyone regardless of gender as well as every aspect of society, result in separation rather than unification, and actively change our†¦show more content†¦Our idea of gender norms shape not only how we act around others, but how we treat others as well. Diaz utilizes the narrator s point of view and imagery to demonstrate how gender n orms let us quickly judge others, often not for the best. He states, â€Å"A local girl will have hips and a nice ass but won’t be quick about letting you touch her. She has to live in the same neighborhood as you do. She might just chill with you and then go home. She might kiss you and then leave. Or she might, if she’s reckless, give it up, but that’s rare. Kissing will suffice. A white girl might give it up right then. Don’t stop her. She’ll take her gum out of her mouth, stick it to the plastic sofa covers, and then move close to you. You have nice eyes, she might say† (Diaz 650). Diaz describes what his character believes is the â€Å"norm† for the girls he is attempting to have sex with. Rather than actually get to know a girl and have a relationship, the author chases after the norm of flirting around and as a result ends up objectifying the very women he is trying to impress. As demonstrated in the text, masculinity and being â€Å"the man† are the most important ideas in the minds of some men and as such, cause men to not only disregard their own feelings and ideas, but to also ignore and condemn the individuality of others. By putting these expectations and limitations on both women and men, we