I may now discard this nearly-worthless 634-page book
Warm Platitudes Extracted From Thinking Critically, John Chaffee:
(1) Low achievers tend to live in the present and the past. Their concepts of the future are vague and ill defined [. . .]. This unclear concept of the future makes it difficult for them to identify the most appropriate goals for themselves, [and] to devise effective strategies for achieving these goals [. . .]. If you are focusing mainly on the present rather than the future, then the temptation to go out with your friends may be too strong. On the other hand, if you see this exam as connected to a future that is real and extremely important to you, then you are better equipped to sacrifice a momentary pleasant time for your future happiness.
Unfortunately I do not highly value the future, and I am certainly not prepared to sacrifice a sliver of immediate pleasure.
Life is really poorly designed.
(2) Some parents encourage children to be active thinkers by teaching them to express themselves clearly, make independent decisions, look at different points of view, and choose what they think is right for themselves. Other parents influence their children to be passive thinkers by not letting them do things on their own. These parents give the children detailed instructions they are expected to follow without question and make the important decisions for them. They are reluctant to give their children significant responsibilities, creating, unintentionally, dependent thinkers who are not well adapted to making independent decisions and assuming responsibility for their lives.
(3) Quoting Judicial Reasoning Is All Too Human, Patricia Cohen:
Taking a page from Jungian and some cognitive psychologists, Mr. Bruner and Mr. Amsterdam believe that archetypal stories or myths unconsciously give shape to people's perceptions of their own lives. Universal themes and characters offer a kind of rough script or road map for today's bankers and janitors, salesclerks and toll collectors.
(4) Citing A Psychologist's View of Prejudice and Stereotypes, Douglas A. Bernstein:
[Authoritarianism]
Authoritarianism is composed of three elements: an acceptance of conventional or traditional values, a willingness to unquestioningly follow the orders of authority figures, and an inclination to act aggressively toward individuals or groups identified by these authority figures as threatening the values held by one's in-group. People with an authoritarian orientation tend to view the world as a threatening place, and one way to protect themselves from perceived threat is to identify strongly with their in-group and to reject, dislike, and perhaps even punish anyone who is a member of other groups.
[Social Identity]
Whether they are authoritarian or not, most people are motivated to identify with their in-group [. . .] Members of an in-group often see all members of out-groups as less attractive and less socially acceptable [. . .] Prejudice may result when people's motivation to enhance their own self-esteem causes them to derogate other people.
[Social Cognition]
People must use schemas and other cognitive short-cuts to organize and make sense out of their social world. One effective way to deal with social complexity is to group people into social categories. [. . .] To further simplify perception of these categories, we tend to see their members as being quite similar to one another.
(1) Low achievers tend to live in the present and the past. Their concepts of the future are vague and ill defined [. . .]. This unclear concept of the future makes it difficult for them to identify the most appropriate goals for themselves, [and] to devise effective strategies for achieving these goals [. . .]. If you are focusing mainly on the present rather than the future, then the temptation to go out with your friends may be too strong. On the other hand, if you see this exam as connected to a future that is real and extremely important to you, then you are better equipped to sacrifice a momentary pleasant time for your future happiness.
Unfortunately I do not highly value the future, and I am certainly not prepared to sacrifice a sliver of immediate pleasure.
Life is really poorly designed.
(2) Some parents encourage children to be active thinkers by teaching them to express themselves clearly, make independent decisions, look at different points of view, and choose what they think is right for themselves. Other parents influence their children to be passive thinkers by not letting them do things on their own. These parents give the children detailed instructions they are expected to follow without question and make the important decisions for them. They are reluctant to give their children significant responsibilities, creating, unintentionally, dependent thinkers who are not well adapted to making independent decisions and assuming responsibility for their lives.
(3) Quoting Judicial Reasoning Is All Too Human, Patricia Cohen:
Taking a page from Jungian and some cognitive psychologists, Mr. Bruner and Mr. Amsterdam believe that archetypal stories or myths unconsciously give shape to people's perceptions of their own lives. Universal themes and characters offer a kind of rough script or road map for today's bankers and janitors, salesclerks and toll collectors.
(4) Citing A Psychologist's View of Prejudice and Stereotypes, Douglas A. Bernstein:
[Authoritarianism]
Authoritarianism is composed of three elements: an acceptance of conventional or traditional values, a willingness to unquestioningly follow the orders of authority figures, and an inclination to act aggressively toward individuals or groups identified by these authority figures as threatening the values held by one's in-group. People with an authoritarian orientation tend to view the world as a threatening place, and one way to protect themselves from perceived threat is to identify strongly with their in-group and to reject, dislike, and perhaps even punish anyone who is a member of other groups.
[Social Identity]
Whether they are authoritarian or not, most people are motivated to identify with their in-group [. . .] Members of an in-group often see all members of out-groups as less attractive and less socially acceptable [. . .] Prejudice may result when people's motivation to enhance their own self-esteem causes them to derogate other people.
[Social Cognition]
People must use schemas and other cognitive short-cuts to organize and make sense out of their social world. One effective way to deal with social complexity is to group people into social categories. [. . .] To further simplify perception of these categories, we tend to see their members as being quite similar to one another.