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2005 Ap Psychology Free-Response

2005 AP PSYCHOLOGY FREE-RESPONSE

Psychologists research for further knowledge, but sometimes there are controversial issues for one another.

First, children¡¯s acquisition of language is an innate mechanism that enables a child to analyze language and extract the basic rules of grammar, granted by Chomsky. It basically states that humans are born with a language acquisition device that, the ability to learn a language rapidly as children. However, there is one important controversy in language acquisition concerns how we acquire language; since Chomsky fails to adequately explain individual differences. From the behaviorists¡¯ perspectives, the language is learned like other learned behaviors. It is learned through operant conditioning and shaping. For example, when the children used language correctly, they got rewarded by their parents with such as smile or other form of encouragement. Then, they would be more likely to use language correctly in the future.

Also, the value of diagnostic labeling can be used effectively, and ineffectively. The value of diagnostic labeling is classifying patients for identifying disorders that suggest appropriate treatments, and help patients to understand symptoms. However, there is a problem with labeling diagnosis. Labels create therapist and social expectations about client, which can be led them perform self-fulfilling prophecy. Any unusual behavior would be attributed as to disorder. Also, labels make it easier to access stereotypes about client. Then client actually may ¡°become¡± the disorder. For instance, Rosenhan¡¯s study in 1973, he and a number of associates sought admission to a number of mental hospitals. All claimed that they had been hearing voices. All were admitted to the institutions as suffering from schizophrenia. At that time, ceased reporting any unusual symptoms and behaved as they usually did. However, none of the doctors, nor nurses recognized that they are not real patients, but only real...