9.9 CHANGING MINDS

Question 9.22

1. You mention to a friend that you’ve just learned that the primary language we learn can shape the way that we think. Your friend says that people are people everywhere and that this can’t be true. What evidence could you describe to support your point?

Question 9.23

2. In September 2011, Wired magazine ran an article discussing the fourth-down decisions of NFL coaches. On fourth down, a coach can choose to play aggressively and go for a first down (or even a touchdown), or the coach can settle for a punt or a field goal, which are safer options but result in fewer points than a touchdown. Statistically, the riskier play results in greater point gain, on average, than playing it safe. But in reality, coaches choose the safer plays over 90% of the time. Reading this article, one of your friends is incredulous. “Coaches aren’t stupid, and they want to win,” he says. “Why would they always make the wrong decision?” Your friend is assuming that humans are rational decision makers. In what ways is your friend wrong? What might be causing the irrational decision making by football coaches?

Question 9.24

3. In biology class, the topic turns to genetics. The professor describes the “Doogie” mouse, named after a 1990s TV show starring Neil Patrick Harris as a child genius named Doogie Howser. Doogie mice have a genetic manipulation that makes them smarter than other, genetically normal mice. Your classmate turns to you. “I knew it,” she said. “There’s a ‘smart gene’ after all—some people have it, and some people don’t, and that’s why some people are intelligent and some people aren’t.” What would you tell her about the role genetics plays in intelligence? What other factors, besides genes, play an important role in determining an individual’s intelligence?

Question 9.25

4. One of your friends tells you about his sister. “We’re very competitive,” he says. “But she’s smarter. We both took IQ tests when we were kids, and she scored 104, but I only scored 102.” What would you tell your friend about the relationship between IQ scores and intelligence? What do IQ scores really measure?

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Question 9.26

5. A speaker visiting your university notes that there are still gender differences in academia; for example, in math departments across the country, women make up only about 26% of assistant professors and 10% of full professors. One of your classmates notes that the statistic isn’t surprising: “Girls don’t do as well as boys at math,” he says. “So it’s not surprising that fewer girls choose math-related careers.” Based on what you’ve read in the text about group differences in intelligence, why might women perform more poorly then men on tests of math or science, even if the groups actually have similar ability?

 

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