Background Demographics

    Part I.  Scenario Set A

    Scenario #1. The physical education teacher at your neighborhood elementary school claims there are a few students every year who clearly stand out from the rest of the class.  They excel in every sport and activity, with their scores on fitness tests surpassing other students.  On the other hand, there are always a handful of students each year who score exceptionally low on fitness tests and show little interest in gym activities.  These children frustrate the teacher who has tried over and over to get them involved, hoping they will enjoy gym class and look forward to it, but that just never happens.
    ​
    Read each pair of statements and then choose the statement that best represents your ideas related to this scenario.

    A.  Even if the teacher got more children interested in gym class by including dance or archery, some children would never achieve the physical fitness scores of the natural athletes.
    B.  Differences in whether or not students excel in gym class are due to opportunities to play sports outside of school with siblings and neighborhood children.
    C.  Athletic differences between children are dependent on the type of muscle protein they inherited with genes affecting how powerfully muscles contract as well as endurance and flexibility.
    D.  The teacher needs to convince students who have given up that the keys to success in gym class are practice, effort, and persistence more than anything else.
    ​E.  Athletic ability is malleable and unpredictable, and is connected to differences in teachers as well as the activities they plan for class.
    F.  Performance in gym class has very little to do with children’s social experiences, cognitive qualities, or how hard they try.
    G.  You really cannot improve a student’s athletic performance or fitness ability because people either have athletic talent or they do not.
    H.  Interest in gym will change when children move from elementary school into middle school as children have new opportunities to work as a team rather than focusing on individual skills.
    Scenario #2. You remember your college roommate as a great guy, fun to be around, energetic, and a real optimist.  Nonetheless, his wife called to tell you that about a year ago, he started feeling really down, claiming that he wasn’t getting any pleasure out of anything.  He had trouble getting out of bed to get dressed let alone go to work.  He was having trouble sleeping and felt worthless.  He quit his job 4 months ago and was recently diagnosed with a severe depressive disorder.  She is hoping that you could come for a visit as that might help him get back to his old self.

    Read each pair of statements and then choose the statement that best represents your ideas related to this scenario.

    A.  Although their college experiences were similar, there must have been something fundamentally different between the roommates that led to only one becoming depressed..
    B.  To help him come up with a coping strategy to turn things around, his wife needs to find out what led to his depression.
    C. It is possible that the roommate had an underlying biological or genetic factor such that the onset of depression was unavoidable.
    D. Several new activities should be planned for the visit that would keep the roommate from focusing on all of the negative things that are happening in his life.
    E.  The roommate or his wife should make a list of reputable therapists in their town that have successfully treated depressive disorders.
    F.  Although the roommate was fine in college, it is likely that he will continue to have similar problems or something more severe his whole life.
    G.  The roommate could overcome his depression if a counselor helped him work on his problem solving skills.
    H.  It is fortunate that this couple never had children as it is likely that the children would also develop a depressive disorder.
    Scenario #3.  You always find your brother’s description of his two high school daughters entertaining.  His recent story was about the twin’s high school grades.  One of the girls is a diligent student who does all of her homework according to a schedule she created that dictates how much time she devotes to each class each week.  The second daughter rarely does homework, often fails to turn in assignments, and only studies the night before a test.  Nonetheless, test scores for the two daughters are rarely different, and according to your brother, their course grades would be identical if homework assignments did not count toward course grades. 

    Read each pair of statements and then choose the statement that best represents your ideas related to this scenario.
     
    A.  Although the girls are twins, gene expression is only probabilistic with experiences shaping how our genes work.
    B.  The two girls must not be identical twins as they apparently did not inherit identical DNA.
    C.  Intelligence is not something we are born with, it is a measure of how healthy people were as children and how much cognitive stimulation they had when they were young.
    D.  Students who do well on exams but rarely study most likely have a special brain network enabling them to easily understand and memorize whatever they read.
    ​E.  Differences in what the girls do in high school hardly matter as school success is a stable attribute mostly determined before or during the elementary school years.
    F.  The diligent twin who set up a study schedule has learned that responsibility is the ticket for success in life.
    G.  The daughter who does well on exams even though she puts little effort into studying is probably the more intelligent twin.
    H.  Someone’s intelligence can be improved by effort, dedication, and persistence—skills that will have increasing influence as the twins finish school and enter the workforce.
    Part II. Human Attribution Scale

    We are interested in your thoughts about characteristics and behaviors commonly seen in children or adults.  You will use the same scale to rate each statement. Work quickly as your first reaction to each item will most accurately reflect your honest opinion.
    Part III.  Scenario Set B

    Scenario #1.  Your neighbor stopped by to let you know that they are having the varsity soccer team over for a barbecue to start the athletic season.  While it is obvious that your neighbor is proud of her son, you are surprised that he tried out for the team given that you remember the child as being very shy when he was young.  Although he occasionally played with neighborhood children, that was only when the other children or their parents initiated the activities.  When he came to birthday parties for your children even a few years ago, he primarily watched the other children and barely spoke to anyone.
     
    Read each pair of statements and then choose the statement that best represents your ideas related to this scenario.
     
    A.  The child must be athletic and was chosen for the team despite his overriding shyness.
    B.  Although people may have some identifiable traits, it is never easy to predict how they will behave in different situations.
    ​C.  It is clear that the child is breaking out of his shyness and becoming more outgoing.
    D.  Whether someone has one personality trait or another can be traced back to genetic factors.
    ​E.  Children can behave in some ways that seem ambiguous, but the central aspects of their personality are clear-cut.
    F.  It is impossible to say whether this child will still be shy in the next 5 or 10 years because personalities can change drastically over time.
    ​G.  Becoming a member of the varsity soccer team will boost the child’s self-confidence and provide an opportunity for him to gradually overcome his shyness.
    H.  Some people are anxious around others and feel socially awkward simply because that is just how they are.
    Scenario #2.  Because your wife’s 38-year-old brother has never had a history of violent behavior, you were shocked when he called her saying that he had been arrested for assault.  Your brother-in-law apparently got into a fight with a store clerk.  The argument escalated and he assaulted the clerk.  Witnesses who called the police reported that your brother-in-law repeatedly kicked the man even after he had fallen to the ground.  Although the clerk was alive when the police arrived, he is now in critical condition in the hospital and your brother-in-law is worried that he will be arrested for second degree murder should the man die. 

    Read each pair of statements and then choose the statement that best represents your ideas related to this scenario.
     
    A.  People who lead pretty easy-going lives will sometimes overreact when they first experience a confrontational situation.
    B.  The assault was most likely linked to a biochemical disturbance in the brain that was probably there all along or that gradually became stronger as he aged
    ​C.  You knew that your brother-in-law and his wife were having some problems and wonder if his change in behavior is due to their marriage breaking down.
    D.  It always seemed as though something was a bit off with your brother-in-law, and although you never expected him to assault someone, he must have reached his boiling point.
    E.  Even without a history of violent behavior, men commit the majority of violent crimes because evolution favors survival of those who are the most fit and strong.
    F.  Exhaustion, stress, and even minor disagreements can make many people without a history of violence act impulsively when they are provoked.
    ​G.  Although people may have some basic identifiable traits, it is never easy to predict how they will behave in one situation or another.
    H.  People can often control their behavior especially when stress levels are low, but when stressed or frustrated, their underlying essence to be violent will appear.
    Scenario #3. ​ When you were asked to join a colleague for lunch so that you could meet her sister who was visiting from out of town, you were surprised to see that her sister was obese.  Although she was careful to order a low-calorie lunch and refused to take a bite of dessert, she complained about never being able to lose weight even though she was constantly dieting.  Your colleague, in contrast, seems to stay thin regardless of what she eats.  In fact, she is the only person in the office who habitually arrives for work drinking coffee topped with whipped cream and carrying dessert. 

    Read each pair of statements and then choose the statement that best represents your ideas related to this scenario.

    A.  Your colleague might stay thin because she jogs faithfully every morning before stopping for coffee on the way to the office.
    B.  Because inheritance has a lot to do with obesity, it is possible that obesity is found in either their mother’s or father’s side of the family but apparently not both.​
    C.  Your colleague appears to be one of those people with a naturally high metabolism rate.
    D.  Obesity can be affected by social engagements, and it is possible that the sister’s spouse, friends, or online contacts also be obese.
    E.  People can control their weight by making lifestyle changes that involves eating less and exercising more.
    F.  Many people have hormonal or chemical problems that make it impossible for them to control their weight with diet or exercise.
    G.  The sister was most likely overweight already as a child and this set her up for a lifetime of being overweight.
    H.  Diets can be effective when people set reasonable goals for weight loss and exercise, especially when the diet is more about cutting calories rather than giving up favorite foods.
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