Who Should I Call? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Konrad Lorenz

Konrad Lorenz described a process known as imprinting, which is a sudden, virtually permanent learning process that occurs in geese during their critical period of development. During this time a gosling will attach to the first thing they see that moves - a dog, a cow, or it can even be a box being pulled along by a string.

After attachment, the baby will follow whatever they attach to, and run toward it when they are frightened. His advice: Don't worry. This is perfectly normal for geese.

Answer: Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget is considered by many to be the greatest child psychologist of the twentieth century. His "Stages of Cognitive Development" describe the changes that occur in a child's understanding at different stages in his life. His advice: Don't worry. I suspect your nephew has recently seen another child, perhaps at daycare, build with blocks.

He has reached the stage of representative thought, where he can picture or represent things in his mind, and had formed such a clear image of what happened at daycare, that he was able to recreate it later at home.

He has entered the preoperational stage of cognitive development, which is typical at about eighteen months of age.

Answer: Sigmund Freud

Freud believed that during the Phallic Stage of Psychosexual Development children became rivals for the affections of the parent of the opposite sex. Boys want to keep their mothers to themselves and are in hostile conflict with their fathers, and vice versa for girls.

His advice: This is perfectly natural. These feelings usually take place on an unconscious level and generally neither the children nor parents are aware of what is going on. Don't worry. Boys will eventually identify with their fathers, and girls with their mothers, taking on the values and morals of the same sex parent.

Answer: Ivan Pavlov

The problem is that many students have been classically conditioned by the school systems to get up and leave class when the bell rings. The bell is a neutral stimulus until students at my school reach the Middle School level. Then it becomes a conditioned stimulus, and the conditioned response of students leaving is the result of it happening seven or eight times daily for nine months of the year.

The response isn't likely to become extinct unless every teacher demands that students wait for their permission to leave.

His advice: Don't worry. Overall, classical conditioning helps humans adapt to the environment and avoid danger.

Answer: B. F. Skinner

Skinner completed some very interesting operant conditioning experiments using his famous "Skinner Box" and rats. His advice: Use a doggie treat as a positive reinforcer every time the puppy lifts his paw to shake hands. The reinforcement will increase the likelihood that the response will be repeated.

Answer: Eric Erikson

Erikson believed that most adolescents have to go through an identity crisis in order to achieve some sense of themselves. When adolescents are able to resolve issues such as choice of occupation and what set of values they wish to live by, the identity will form.

His advice: Don't worry. This is natural. Adolescents have a lot of decisions to make and will eventually find a way to express themselves through forming an identity in a socially acceptable way.

Answer: Hermann Rorschach

This sounds rather like Rorschach's inkblot test. It is probably the best known projective personality test. The underlying theory is that the test will reveal aspects of a person's personality through what they see or don't see. Even though the test has been widely criticized, many therapists have continued to use this test as an introduction to therapy.

His advice: Don't worry. People see things in different ways, and in this case it may be the simple fact that your mother is introverted and you are an extrovert.

Answer: Sigmund Freud

This is a basic part of Freud's dream analysis theory. He believed that dreams express unconscious thoughts and feelings. A therapist might interpret the above dream by saying that I must have a very difficult task ahead and am uncertain of the outcome.

His advice: Use the free association technique in therapy to find out what unconscious feelings are causing the dream. It might take hours and hours of therapy, but eventually the problem will be uncovered.

Answer: Howard Gardner

Psychologists do not agree on the meaning of the word intelligence. Some believe that it is the ability to acquire new ideas and behavior, while others believe it is what allows a person to do well in school. The best person to consult, however, is Howard Gardner.

He rejected the traditional idea that intelligence is the ability to think logically. He created a broader perspective of intelligence that includes eight types. Only one of his types has to do with logical-mathematical reasoning skills.

His advice: These eight intelligences are different and often non-related. The biological organization of the brain affects one's strength in each of the eight areas. Don't worry. Some people are great at math, while others are great at music, interpersonal skills, intrapersonal skills, nature, verbiage, fine motor skills, or finding their way around an environment.

Answer: Ghostbusters

Sorry - I couldn't resist. Remember they are parapsychologists! :)