Friday, November 2, 2018

Psychology 277 - Essay Questions for Exam 2


1.    List the environmental factors that may have an influence on prenatal development. Discuss the effects of environmental hazards on the child. (8 Points)  

Per the text, common environmental factors include, the mother’s diet, diseases, drugs taken by either partner, hormones, narcotics, and vitamins taken. (Rathus, S. A., Nevid, J. S. & Fitchner-Rathus, L. 2018. pages 283-288) Various substances that could affect the mother affect’s the growing fetus. As we learn more and more about various substances and their effects on pregnant women, new things are found to be toxic to optimal fetal development.  In the 1960s, it was common to see women smoking and having a drink during pregnancy.  These days, we know that smoking leads to low birth weight, and possibly SIDS, and that drinking leads to fetal alcohol syndrome.  We are still learning things about pregnancy and what will lead to the healthiest birth possible, but we are closer now than we were when doctors handed out Thalidomide for morning sickness, though I personally wonder if this same thing will happen with Zofran. 

2.    Compare two advantages and two disadvantages of combination oral contraceptives and progesterone-only oral contraceptives. (6 points)

One advantage to the pill is that you don’t have to interrupt sex for it to work.  It works by tricking the body into thinking its already pregnant so that no eggs are released, or if one manages to release, the cervical mucus is thicker, so it provides a natural barrier.  Another advantage is that, when used typically, it only has a 9% failure rate.  (Rathus et. al. 2018. pp. 310-313) One glaring disadvantage is that it’s hormonal so some women will have side effects. While most side effects will dissipate with time, the birth control pill can aggravate migraines, cause feelings of nausea, weight gain, breast tenderness and more. Sometimes these side effects are severe enough that a change may be warranted. Another is that the pill doesn’t protect against STIs.  Even within the various types, there are advantages and disadvantages.  One is that the mini pill has to be taken at the exact same time every day to be effective, while the combination pill has a little more leeway and needs to be taken within a 2-hour window. 

3.    Discuss cohabitation. What are some of the reasons couples may decide to cohabitate. Include in a separate paragraph the relationship between cohabitation and marriage? What does the current law say about cohabitating couples in Arizona? How might cohabitation impact an individual’s chances of getting married and of divorcing? (10 Points)

Cohabitation is “living together as though married but without the legal sanction.” (p. 362) There are many reasons couples choose to live together without being married.  Some want to “test run” marriage, some may want to share living expenses without losing public benefits, still others want to share a life without retaliation from adult children or parents. Up until May 2001, cohabitation was illegal in the state of Arizona.  Though considered a rarely enforced law in the state (much as with adultery and fornication), it was still on the books as a misdemeanor dating back to the 19th century. (Fields, R. 2001. Retrieved from URL: http://articles.latimes.com/2001/aug/20/news/mn-36308) The text states that the longer a couple lives together, the more likely they are to get married.  Table 11.6 shows that after three years of cohabitation, a couple is twice as likely to marry as their cohabitation counterparts are at year one. (Rathus, et. al., 2018. p. 364).  However, it is later stated that couples who cohabitate for a long period of time are more likely to divorce than couples who did not cohabitate.   


4.    Given what you have learned about orgasmic disorders, draw conclusions as to why orgasmic disorder is so much more prevalent in women than in men. (6 Points)

Orgasm is such a complex topic that I’m not surprised when the text says that women have a harder time achieving orgasm than men do. (2018. pp. 386-390) Women deal with their brain being the number one source of stimulation, so their libido is easier to sway.  One wrong word could completely turn off a woman’s libido.  While men can (and do) experience this, it is much more rare in men than women and on a much smaller scale.  Women also suffer with the idea that vaginal intercourse should lead to orgasm, when the truth is that very few women achieve orgasm through penetration alone. When this doesn’t happen, women are left wanting.  We also can have problems with lubrication or desire as a result of hormonal changes or the birth control pill.  With women, there are so many variables that the American Psychiatric Association has recently merged the two disorders into one concise diagnosis of “female sexual interest/arousal disorder.” (2018. p. 387) Men normally only experience problems related to achieving an erection (for which the drugs Viagra and Cialis were marketed), and premature ejaculation, both of which are easier problems to solve than the female libido and sexual response.  Women can experience lack of desire or lack of sexual response for any number of reasons ranging from physical to mental.  Men usually don’t have a problem with mentally being in the mood, but rather their body not responding (or responding too quickly).    



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Grade: 30/30
Professor Comments: None

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