How does Julie think the wolves can help her?

The part of the plot that you are asking about is in part one of Jean Craighead George's story.  At this point in the book, Julie is referred to by her Eskimo name, Miyax.  She is completely lost, which is bad in normal situations, but Miyax's situation is not normal.  She is on the North Slope of Alaska, which is about as barren of a wasteland as you can get.  

The barren slope stretches...

The part of the plot that you are asking about is in part one of Jean Craighead George's story.  At this point in the book, Julie is referred to by her Eskimo name, Miyax.  She is completely lost, which is bad in normal situations, but Miyax's situation is not normal.  She is on the North Slope of Alaska, which is about as barren of a wasteland as you can get.  

The barren slope stretches for three hundred miles from the Brooks Range to the Arctic Ocean, and for more than eight hundred miles from the Chukchi to the Beaufort Sea. No roads cross it; ponds and laces freckle its immensity.

In addition to being a barren wasteland, it's full of wolves.  That's scary, but Miyax is not scarred of the wolves . . . at all.  In fact, she believes that the wolves can help her.  She knows that the wolves are better hunters and killers than her, so Miyax is hoping to figure out a way to communicate with the wolves.  She wants to tell the wolves that she is hungry and needs some of their food.  The wolves will help Miyax (Julie) by supplying her with food.  

Miyax stared hard at the regal black wolf, hoping to catch his eye. She must somehow tell him that she was starving and ask him for food. This could be done she knew, for her father, an Eskimo hunter, had done so. One year he had camped near a wolf den while on a hunt. When a month had passed and her father had seen no game, he told the leader of the wolves that he was hungry and needed food. The next night the wolf called him from far away and her father went to him and found a freshly killed caribou.

What inferences or conclusions can you draw about the narrator's state of mind as it changes during the course of the story "The Scarlet Ibis" by...

The narrator’s state of mind changes throughout “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst.

Readers make judgments or evaluations based on a character’s emotions, actions, or words. The author gives the reader information and he/she is able to make inferences. In “The Scarlet Ibis” the reader is able to infer a number of details about the narrator’s frame of mind.

One characteristic the reader can infer about Brother is that he carries an inherent meanness in him. He shows his disappointment with both cruel thoughts and actions.  "I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow" when he was just a baby. Brother’s dreams for a companion who would play and explore with him are dashed when his little brother is born with many disabilities. Brother’s intrinsic unkindness is reaffirmed later in the story when he forces Doodle to touch the coffin Father had made for him. And, again we witness Brother as he leaves Doodle alone and afraid during the storm, which leads to the child’s death. Based on these actions, his state of mind does not seem to be that of a concerned, loving brother.

Brother is a tenacious individual as witnessed in his attempts, against all odds, to teach Doodle to stand and walk. But, this tenacity is born out of selfishness because Brother does not want to be embarrassed by Doodle’s disabilities. Brother gets caught up in the excitement of Doodle’s physical progress so much that the boys keep their escapades from the family until Doodle is proficient enough to walk on his own. This happens after Brother pushes him past his limitations over and over. Again, one can question Brother’s state of mind. Is he concerned more about himself than his brother’s well-being?

From the beginning of the story to its end, the reader can infer that Brother carries guilt with him. In the exposition, he describes the setting with melancholy tones, and tells the reader how he remembers his brother.

But sometimes (like right now), as I sit in the cool, green-draped parlor, the grindstone begins to turn, and time with all its changes is ground away-and I remember Doodle.

And, at the story’s conclusion he describes how he found Doodle unresponsive and bleeding. Knowing he ran ahead and left his brother in a bad situation, he shakes Doodle before realizing that the unthinkable has happened.  Only after succumbing to his selfishness and meanness does he live with the guilt of knowing that he was partially responsible for his brother’s death.

I began to weep, and the tear-blurred vision in red before me looked very familiar. "Doodle!" I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.

What are some examples of irony in Act 2 of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde?

In Act 2 of The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde gains most of his humor through situational irony, that is, things that are the opposite of what is expected. At the beginning of the scene, Miss Prism scorns "this modern mania for turning bad people into good people at a moment's notice." This is ironic in two respects: first, most people would favor a sinner's reformation and second, true reformation rarely happens instantaneously.

Next Cecily admonishes Algy, who is pretending to be Ernest, "I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time. That would be hypocrisy." Again, the irony works on two levels: first, the usual way a hypocrite acts is to pretend to be good while really being wicked, and second, Algy actually is pretending here, although Cecily doesn't know it. That is dramatic irony, where the audience knows something a character doesn't.

When Algy says that good looks "are a snare that every sensible man would like to be caught in," his remark is ironic in that a snare, by definition, takes one against one's will.

Miss Prism, upon learning that Ernest is dead, says, "What a lesson for him! I trust he will profit by it." Her remark is humorously ironic since dead men cannot profit from life's lessons.

Jack's unthinking reply to Cecily, "I haven't got a brother!" is ironic in that without realizing it he denies the lie that he has worked so hard to perpetrate, and when he tells the literal truth, Cecily won't accept it, mistaking his answer for a figurative disowning of his brother.

Cecily's long explanation of her fantasy romance with Ernest to Algernon, who is pretending to be Ernest, is highly ironic as Algy learns about things in "his" past that he has done from a woman he has only just met. Gwendolen's description of her father's role is ironic because it exchanges the expected role in society of men with that of women: "The home seems to me to be the proper sphere for the man."

The conversation between Gwendolyn and Cecily about their engagements is hilariously ironic since each of them believes the other woman is speaking of the same man when they are really only speaking of the same imaginary character who is being played by two different men.

The tea war is ironic since taking tea is usually a genteel occasion, but here it becomes aggressive, yet cloaked in exaggerated civility.

In Act 2, Wilde takes the audience on a wild ironic ride, careening from one unexpected twist to another. 

What are gastrointestinal disorders? |

Causes and Symptoms

What and how people eat, their digestion, and their toilet habits affect their health more than any other voluntary daily activity. Breathing, circulation, and the brain’s control of most bodily functions normally take place without conscious thought. The intake of nourishment, by contrast, affords a great variety of choices. Accordingly, poor or self-destructive eating and toilet habits lie behind many gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. Yet not all disorders result from an individual’s habits. Many arise because of a person’s cultural or physical environment, some are hereditary or congenital, and a fair amount have no known cause. All told, more than one hundred disorders may originate in the GI tract and related organs, including infections, cancer, dysfunctions, obstructions, autoimmune diseases, malabsorption of nutrients, and reactions to toxins taken in during eating, drinking, or breathing. Furthermore, diseases in other organs, systemic infections such as lupus, immune suppression such as that caused by Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), reactions to altered body conditions as during pregnancy, and psychiatric problems can all affect the gut.

The symptoms of GI disorders range from mildly uncomfortable to life-threatening, although seldom does any single symptom except massive bleeding lead quickly to death. Indigestion, bloating, and gas send more people to gastroenterologists than any other set of symptoms, and they often reflect nothing more than overeating. Pain anywhere along the gut, aversion to food (anorexia), and
nausea are general symptoms common to many disorders, although noncardiac chest pain is likely to come from the esophagus while pain in the abdomen points to a stomach or intestinal problem. Red blood in the stool indicates bleeding in the intestines, black (digested) blood suggests bleeding in the upper small bowel or stomach, and vomited blood indicates injury to the stomach or esophagus—all dangerous signs that require prompt medical attention. Chronic diarrhea, fatty stool, constipation, difficulty in swallowing, hiccuping, vomiting, and cramps point to disturbances in the GI tract’s orderly, wavelike contractions or absorption of nutrients and fluid. Dysentery (bloody diarrhea) usually comes from severe inflammation or lesions caused by viruses, bacteria, or other parasites. Malnourishment is a sign of badly disordered digestion, and ascites (fluid accumulation in body cavities) can result from serious disease in the liver or pancreas. Likewise, jaundice, the yellowing of the skin or eyes because of high bilirubin levels, signals problems in the liver, pancreas, or their ducts.

The large number and complexity of GI disorders do not allow a quick, comprehensive summary. Fortunately, many are uncommon, and the most frequent problems can be described through a tour of the GI tract. The GI tract is basically a tube that moves food from the mouth to the anus, extracting energy and biochemical building blocks for the body along the way. Thus, a disorder that interrupts the flow in one section of the intestines can have secondary effects on other parts of the gut. Disorders seldom affect one area alone.

The esophagus. The GI tract’s first section, the esophagus, is simply a passageway from the mouth to the stomach. Although it rarely gets infected, the esophagus is the site of several common problems, usually relatively minor, if painful. Muscle dysfunctions, including slow, weak, or spasmodic muscular movement, can impair motility and make swallowing difficult, as can strictures, which usually occur at the sphincter to the stomach. The mucosal lining of the esophagus is not as hardy as in other parts of the gut. When acid backflushes from the stomach into the esophagus, it inflames tissue there and can cause burning and even bleeding, a condition popularly known as
heartburn and technically called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Retching and vomiting, usually resulting from alcohol abuse or associated with a hiatal hernia, can tear the mucosa. Smokers and drinkers run the risk of esophageal cancer, which can spread down into the gut early in its development and can be deadly; however, it accounts for only about 1 percent of cancers. Most esophageal conditions can be cured or controlled if diagnosed early enough.

The stomach. To store food and prepare it for digestion lower in the gut, the stomach churns its contents into a homogenous mass and releases it in small portions into the small bowel; meanwhile, the stomach also secretes acid to kill bacteria. Bacteria that are acid-resistant, however, can multiply there. One type, Helicobacter pylori, is thought to be involved in the development of
ulcers and perhaps cancer. Overuse of aspirins and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can also cause stomach ulcers. A variety of substances, including alcohol, can prompt inflammation and even hemorrhaging. Stomach cancer
has been shown to strike those who have a diet high in salted, smoked, or pickled foods; the most common cancer in the world, although not in the United States, it has a low survival rate. When stomach muscle function fails, food accumulates until the stomach overstretches and rebounds, causing vomiting. Some foods can coalesce into an indigestible lump, and hair and food fibers can roll into a ball, called a bezoar; such masses can interfere with digestion.

The small intestine
. The five to six meters of looped gut between the stomach and colon is called the small intestine. It secretes fluids, hormones, and enzymes into food passing through, breaking it down chemically and absorbing nutrients. Although cancers seldom develop in the small intestine itself, they frequently do so in the organs connected to it, the liver and pancreas. The major problem in the small bowel is the multitude of diseases causing diarrhea, dysentery, or ulceration: They include bacterial, viral, and parasitic disease; motility disorders; and the chronic, progressive inflammatory illness called Crohn’s disease, which also ulcerates the bowel wall. Although most diarrhea is temporary, if it persists diarrhea severely weakens patients through dehydration and malnourishment. For this reason, diarrheal diseases caused by toxins in water or food are the leading cause of childhood death worldwide. An increasingly common disorder of the small bowel is celiac disease, or gluten enteropathy, an autoimmune disease that results in malabsorption. Furthermore, the small bowel can become paralyzed, twisted, or kinked, thereby obstructing the passage of food. Sometimes its contents rush through too fast, a condition called dumping syndrome. All these disorders reduce digestion, and if they are chronic, then malnutrition, vitamin deficiency, and weight loss ensue.

The large intestine. The small intestine empties into the large intestine, or colon, the last meter of the GI tract; here the water content of digestive waste matter (about a liter a day) is reabsorbed, and the waste becomes increasingly solid along the way to the rectum, forming feces. Unlike the small bowel, which is nearly sterile under normal conditions, the colon hosts a large population of bacteria that ferments the indigestible fiber in waste matter, and some of the by-products are absorbed through the colon’s mucosa. Bacteria or parasites gaining access from the outside world can cause diarrhea by interfering with this absorption (a condition called malabsorption) or by irritating the mucosa and speeding up muscle action. For unknown reasons, the colon can also become chronically inflamed, resulting in cramps and bloody diarrhea, an illness known as ulcerative
colitis;
Crohn’s disease also can affect the colon. Probably because it is so often exposed to a variety of toxins, the colon is particularly susceptible to cancer in people over fifty years old: Colorectal cancer accounts for the fourth highest number of cancer deaths worldwide, in an equal proportion of men and women. As people age, the muscles controlling the colon deteriorate, sometimes forming small pouches in the bowel wall, called diverticula, that can become infected (diverticulitis). In addition, small knobs called polyps can grow, and they may become cancerous. One of the most common lower GI disorders is constipation, which may derive from a poor diet, motility malfunction, or both.

The rectum. The last segment of the colon, the
rectum collects and holds feces for defecation through the anus. The rectum is susceptible to many of the diseases affecting the colon, including cancer and chronic inflammation. The powerful anal sphincter muscle, which controls defecation, can be the site of brief but intensely painful spasms called proctalgia fugax, which strikes for unknown reasons. The tissue lining the anal
canal contains a dense network of blood vessels; straining to eliminate stool because of constipation or diarrhea or simply sitting too long on a toilet can distend these blood vessels, creating hemorrhoids, which may burn, itch, bleed, and become remarkably uncomfortable. If infected, hemorrhoids or anal fissures may develop painful abscesses (sacs of pus). Extreme straining can cause the rectum to turn inside out through the anus, or prolapse.

The liver. The GI tract’s organs figure prominently in many disorders. The liver is a large spongy organ that filters the blood, removing toxins and dumping them with bile into the duodenum. A number of viruses can invade the liver and inflame it, a malady called
hepatitis. Acute forms of the disease have flulike symptoms and are self-limited. Some viruses, however, as well as alcohol or drug abuse and worms, cause extensive cirrhosis (the formation of abnormal, scarlike tissue) and chronic hepatitis. Although only recently common in the United States, viral hepatitis has long affected a large number of people in Southeast Asia; because hepatitis can trigger the mutation of normal cells,

liver cancer is among the most common cancers worldwide. Hepatitis patients often have jaundice, as do those who, as a result of drug reactions, cancer, or stones, have blocked bile flow. Because of congenital or inherited errors of metabolism, excess fat, iron, and copper can build up in the liver, causing upper abdominal pain, skin discolorations, weakness, and behavioral changes; complications can include cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, and heart disease.

The gallbladder
. A small sac that concentrates and stores bile from the liver, the gallbladder is connected to the liver and duodenum by ducts. The concentrate often coalesces into stones, which seldom cause problems if they stay in one place. If they block the opening to the gallbladder or lodge in a duct, however, they can cause pain, fever, and jaundice. Although rare, tumors may also grow in the gallbladder or ducts, perhaps as a result of gallstone obstruction.

The pancreas. Lying just behind the stomach, the pancreas produces enzymes to break down fats and proteins for absorption and insulin to metabolize sugar; a duct joins it to the duodenum. The pancreas can become inflamed, either because of toxins (largely alcohol) or blockage of its duct, usually by gallstones. Either cause precipitates a painful condition,
pancreatitis, that may last a few days, with full recovery, or turn into a life-threatening disease. If the source of inflammation is not eliminated, then chronic pancreatitis may develop and with it the gradual loss of the pancreas’ ability to make enzymes and insulin. Severe abdominal pain, malnutrition, diarrhea, and diabetes may develop. Pancreatic cancer has a very poor prognosis, with five-year survival less than 5 percent in most cases. Scientists are unsure of the causes; pancreatitis, gallstones, diabetes, and alcohol have been implicated, but only smoking is well attested to increase the risk of contracting pancreatic cancer, which is
very lethal and difficult to treat. It is estimated that cigarette smoking is responsible for 30 percent of pancreatic cancer cases.

Functional diseases. Finally, some disorders appear to affect several parts of the GI tract at the same time, often with no identifiable cause but with chronic or recurrent symptoms. Gastroenterologists call them functional diseases, and they afflict as much as 30 percent of the population in Western countries. People with
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) complain of abdominal pain, urgency in defecation, and bloating from intestinal gas; they often feel that they cannot empty their rectums completely, even after straining. Functional dyspepsia manifests itself as upper abdominal pain, bloating, early feelings of fullness during a meal, and nausea. Also included in this group are various motility disorders in the esophagus and stomach, whose typical symptom is vomiting, and pseudo-obstruction, a condition in which the small bowel acts as if it is blocked but no lesion can be found. Many gastroenterologists believe that emotional disturbance plays a part in some of these diseases.

Feldman, Mark, Lawrence S. Friedman, and Lawrence J. Brandt, eds. Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. New ed. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier, 2010.

"Gastrointestinal Disorders." Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, March 1, 2013.

"GI Disorders." International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, January 17, 2013.

Heuman, Douglas M., A. Scott Mills, and Hunter H. McGuire, Jr. Gastroenterology. Philadephia: W. B. Saunders, 1997.

Janowitz, Henry D. Indigestion: Living Better with Upper Intestinal Problems, from Heartburn to Ulcers and Gallstones. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Sachar, David B., Jerome D. Waye, and Blair S. Lewis, eds. Pocket Guide to Gastroenterology. Rev. ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1991.

Thompson, W. Grant. The Angry Gut: Coping with Colitis and Crohn’s Disease. New York: Plenum Press, 1993.

What does Jack suggest to start a fire?

Twice in the story Jack finds himself having no means of starting a fire. The first occurs in chapter 2 when the boys have made a huge pile of firewood in response to Ralph's suggestion that they build a signal fire. When Ralph asks him to light the fire, Jack blushes and says, "You rub two sticks. You rub--" He is obviously trying to recall the survivalist technique most boys hear about at some point...

Twice in the story Jack finds himself having no means of starting a fire. The first occurs in chapter 2 when the boys have made a huge pile of firewood in response to Ralph's suggestion that they build a signal fire. When Ralph asks him to light the fire, Jack blushes and says, "You rub two sticks. You rub--" He is obviously trying to recall the survivalist technique most boys hear about at some point but few ever perform. But when Piggy arrives, Jack gets a different idea: "His specs--use them as burning glasses." Instead of asking Piggy for the use of his lenses, Jack snatches them off Piggy's face. Ralph then uses them to light the fire.

Later, in chapter 8, after Jack has created his own tribe and they have killed the sow, Roger asks him how they will make a fire to cook it. Jack responds, "We'll raid them and take fire." 

Interestingly, in both situations Jack resorts to taking without asking when, if he had asked, he would certainly have been given what he requested. These incidents show Jack's tendency to resort to violence rather than use the conventions of society to acquire what he needs.

What are attitude formation and change?

Introduction

An attitude is a person’s positive or negative evaluation of an object or thought; examples include “I support gun control,” “I dislike brand X,” and “I love the person next door.” Much research finds that attitudes can influence a broad range of cognitive processes, such as social inference, reasoning, perception, and interpretation, and can thereby influence behavior. In general, people favor, approach, praise, and cherish those things they like and disfavor, avoid, blame, and harm those things they dislike. Given that attitudes can have pervasive effects on social behavior, it is important to understand how they are formed and changed.

Attitudes can be formed directly through observation of one’s own behavior or through experience with the attitude object. They may also be formed by exposure to social influences such as parents, peers, the mass media, schools, religious organizations, and important reference groups. William McGuire notes that attitudes are one of the most extensively studied topics in social psychology. Much of this research has centered on the question, Who says what to whom, with what effects?

For example, research has varied the source (the “who”) of a message and found that people tend to be most persuaded by credible, trustworthy, attractive, and similar communicators. Research on message characteristics (the “what”) has shown that appeals to fear increase persuasion if accompanied by specific recommendations for how to avoid the fear; that there is a tendency for arguments presented first to have more impact, especially if there is a delay between hearing the arguments and making an evaluation; and that messages that present only one side of an issue are most effective when the recipient lacks the skills or motivation to process the information. In general, research has shown that an audience (the “whom”) is less persuaded if the message is wildly discrepant from their original beliefs; such research also finds that an audience is less persuaded if they have been forewarned about the persuasion attempt and take steps to prepare a counterargument. The effects of social influence are usually described in terms of compliance (attitude change, often short-lived, as a result of wanting to obtain rewards or avoid punishment), identification (change as a result of seeking to be similar to or distinguished from the source of a message), and internalization (change as a result of accepting a position on the basis of its merits).

Early Research

The learning model, perhaps social psychology’s first theory of persuasion, is based on the research of Carl Hovland
and his colleagues at Yale University in the 1950s. According to this model, a message is persuasive when it rewards the recipient at each of the following stages of psychological processing of a message: attention, comprehension, message learning, and yielding. For example, a highly credible source is persuasive because people find it rewarding to attend to and comprehend what he or she says and then to act on it.

One problem with the learning model of persuasion is that subsequent research in the 1960s found that persuasion could occur even if the message was only minimally comprehended and the message’s content was forgotten or never learned. To account for these results, the cognitive response approach posited that the key determinant of persuasion was not message learning but the thoughts running through a person’s head as that individual received a communication. Effective communications are ones that direct and channel thoughts so that the target thinks in a manner agreeable to the communicator’s point of view.

Later research reversed the causal sequence of the learning model from one of “attitudes cause behavior” to “behavior causes attitudes.” Two theories that use this counterintuitive approach are cognitive dissonance theory and self-perception theory. According to consistency theories such as cognitive dissonance theory, people attempt to rationalize their behavior and to avoid a state of dissonance, or simultaneously holding two contradictory cognitions (ideas, beliefs, or opinions). Persuasion occurs as a result of resolving this dissonance. For example, fraternity and sorority pledges often must perform embarrassing behavior to gain admission to the organization. The thoughts “I just ate a plate of grasshoppers as an initiation rite” and “It is stupid to eat grasshoppers” are dissonant with a positive view of the self. One way to reduce this dissonance is to reevaluate the fraternity or sorority more positively: “I ate those grasshoppers because I wanted to join a great club.”

Self-perception theory states that attitudes are based on observing one’s own behavior and then attributing the behavior to underlying beliefs. For example, suppose a man is at a dinner party and is served brown bread, which he then eats. When asked if he likes brown bread, he observes his eating behavior and concludes that he does (unless there is some other plausible reason, such as coercion or politeness). Although dissonance theories serve to explain attitude change when existing attitudes conflict with a person’s current behavior, self-perception theory proposes that when there is no better available explanation for a person’s behavior, observing what the person does is the best indication of his or her attitudes.

Social judgment theory attempts to explain how attitude formation and change occur within a single social context. Attitude change can occur when the context for making judgments is changed. For example, in one study, men rated photographs of women as much less attractive after viewing the 1970s television show Charlie’s Angels. In other words, the very attractive female stars of Charlie’s Angels provided a highly positive context in which to rate the photographs and thus made women of average attractiveness appear much less attractive.

Dual-Mode Processing Models

In an effort to synthesize the vast amount of persuasion research, psychologists proposed a dual-mode processing approach to attitude formation and change. Dual-mode processing models emphasize two factors that influence the success of a persuasion attempt: the recipient’s motivation and the recipient’s ability to process an argument.

Richard Petty and John Cacioppo have suggested that there are two routes to persuasion. In the peripheral route, recipients give little thought to a message, perhaps because they have little motivation to think about it or lack the necessary skills. Persuasion via this route is based less on the arguments made and more on simple persuasion cues or heuristics such as the credibility of the source and the number of other people who agree with the message. Cognitive dissonance, self-perception, and social judgment theory models of attitude change often emphasize peripheral routes, as anxiety reduction, the lack of alternative explanations, and contextual cues are the important determinants of persuasion, rather than careful analysis of the message.

In the central route, where people are motivated and able to process the message, recipients carefully scrutinize the communication, and persuasion is determined by the quality and cogency of the arguments. The central route is emphasized in cognitive response theories of persuasion. Although cognitive responses can vary on a number of dimensions, two of the most important ones are evaluation and elaboration. Most cognitive responses to a message are either positive evaluations (support arguments) or negative evaluations (counterarguments) of the message’s conclusion. Studies have shown that disrupting these cognitive responses and decreasing the recipient’s ability to process the argument using a mild distraction, such as background noises or difficult-to-read print, results in more persuasion when the recipient’s natural tendency would be to make arguments against the message and less persuasion when the recipient normally would have supported the message. Elaboration refers to how much thought a recipient gives to a message. Recipients who are highly motivated to analyze an argument are likely to give it more thought.

Dual-process models of attitude change have led researchers to examine when and why recipients are motivated to process a message carefully. Three such motivations have been suggested: to make sense of themselves and their world, to protect or defend existing self-perceptions or worldviews, and to maintain or enhance their social status. When the message corresponds to an individual’s immediate motivations, persuasion attempts are more effective. For example, individuals who are more image conscious and motivated to enhance their social status are more likely to be persuaded by arguments that emphasize the social consequences of a behavior, while messages that emphasize the personal benefits of a behavior are more effective with those who are more internally guided.

Functional theories of attitude change incorporate these motivational goals. Functional theories posit that attitude formation and change are made when such change would function to serve a recipient’s needs. For example, consider someone who is prejudiced against an ethnic group. This negative attitude helps the person interpret, often incorrectly, social reality (“Members of this ethnic group can do no good and often are the cause of problems”) and maintain a positive view of self (“I am better than they are”), and it may also enhance the person’s social status (“I am a member of a superior social group”). Advertisers make use of functional theories when they market products to appeal to self-images; in such cases, a product is used in order to obtain a desired image, such as appearing to be sophisticated, macho, or a modern woman.

History of Persuasion Research

In an article published in 1935, Gordon Allport declared that attitude is social psychology’s “most indispensable construct.” Research on attitudes began in the 1920s in the United States as a response to changing social conditions. The period was marked by the rise of new mass media such as radio and mass-circulated magazines, the development of large-scale consumer markets, and the changing nature of political activity. Such developments required that citizens' attitudes and opinions regarding a variety of issues be measured and tracked. Academic researchers responded by developing techniques of attitude scaling and measurement and by laying the foundation for survey methodology. The first empirical research on attitudes sought to address questions such as “How are movies changing Americans’ attitudes and values?” and “Has modern life changed traditional cultural attitudes?”

World War II changed the focus of attitude research from measurement to understanding attitude change and persuasion. Many of the post–World War II attitude researchers had either fled Nazi Germany or worked for the Allies in an attempt to defuse Nazi propaganda and bolster their fellow citizens’ attitudes toward the war effort. After the war, in the 1950s, many researchers attempted to explain the propaganda and attitude-change tactics used during the war and later increasingly employed in the mass media. This research resulted in the development of learning, functional, social judgment, and cognitive consistency theories of persuasion.

Practical Applications

Research and theorizing on attitude change have led to the development of numerous tactics and principles of persuasion. These principles are useful for interpreting persuasion effects, such as those that occur in mass media and interpersonal or organizational settings, and for directing persuasion attempts. Three of the more popular tactics will be discussed here.

One of the simplest and most surefire ways to ensure positive cognitive responses is to induce the target to argue for the message conclusion, a tactic known as self-generated persuasion. For example, in one study during World War II, women were asked to “help” a researcher by coming up with reasons that other women should serve organ and intestinal meats (brains, kidneys, and so on) to their families as part of the war effort. These women were eleven times as likely to serve such meats as those who were merely lectured to do so. In another study, some consumers were asked to imagine the benefits of subscribing to cable television, while others were simply informed about those benefits. Those who imagined subscribing were two and a half times as likely to subscribe as those who were merely told why they should.

The foot-in-the-door technique makes use of cognitive dissonance theory. In this tactic, the communicator secures compliance with a large request by first putting his or her “foot in the door” by asking for a small favor that almost everyone will typically do. For example, in one study, residents were asked to place in their yards a large, ugly sign that read “Drive Carefully.” Few residents complied unless they had been “softened up” the week before by an experimenter who got them to sign a petition favoring safe driving. For those residents, putting the ugly sign in the yard helped avoid cognitive dissonance: “Last week I supported safe driving. This week I will be a hypocrite if I do not put this ugly sign in my yard.”

Another effective tactic is to add a decoy, or a worthless item that no one would normally want, to a person’s set of choices. For example, a real-estate agent may show customers overpriced, run-down homes, or a car dealer may place an old clunker of a used car on his or her lot. Consistent with social judgment theory, such decoys create a context for judging the other “real” alternatives and make them appear more attractive. An unsuspecting consumer is then more likely to select and buy these more attractive items.

Attitude research since the 1960s has sought to test and develop the major theories of attitude change, to refine the principles of persuasion, and to apply these principles to an ever-expanding list of targets. For example, research on the relationship between attitude change and memory of a communication led to the development of a cognitive response analysis of persuasion in the late 1960s. Many of the compliance techniques described by Robert Cialdini and by Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson were first elaborated in this period. As knowledge of persuasion improves, the principles of persuasion are increasingly applied to solve social problems. Prosocial goals to which theories of persuasion have been applied include decreasing energy consumption and increasing waste recycling, slowing the spread of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) by changing attitudes toward safe-sex practices, lowering the automobile death toll by increasing seat-belt use, improving health by promoting practices such as good dental hygiene and regular medical checkups, improving worker morale and worker relationships, and reducing intergroup prejudice.

Bibliography

Allport, Gordon W. “Attitudes.” Handbook of Social Psychology. Ed. Carl Allanmore Murchison. Worcester: Clark UP, 1935. 798–844. Print.

Chen, Frances S., et al. "In the Eye of the Beholder: Eye Contact Increases Resistance to Persuasion." Psychological Science 24.11 (2013): 2254–61. Print.

Cialdini, Robert B. Influence: Science and Practice. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2009. Print.

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In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, how does Atticus show Jem and Scout that he cares for them equally?

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird,Atticus Finch has the challenge of raising two young children on his own. Though his maid, Calpurnia, takes care of chores and cooking meals for the family, Atticus is fully committed to raising his children, and imparting unto them his values about fairness and justice. As with any family with more than one child, Atticus shows his children that he cares for them equally in a variety of...

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch has the challenge of raising two young children on his own. Though his maid, Calpurnia, takes care of chores and cooking meals for the family, Atticus is fully committed to raising his children, and imparting unto them his values about fairness and justice. As with any family with more than one child, Atticus shows his children that he cares for them equally in a variety of ways.

A telling example occurs near the beginning of the book. As Atticus tucks Scout in for the night, she asks to play with his pocket watch. Atticus mentions that the watch will belong to Jem one day, as it is custom for a son to receive his father’s watch. He goes on to say that when Scout is an adult, he will give her a ring and necklace that once belonged to her mother. By telling this to Scout, he is also reassuring her that she, too, will have a permanent connection to her parents, especially the mother she never knew.

Atticus also makes it clear to his children that a proper education is important for both of them. Despite his long hours working as a defense attorney, Atticus takes time each evening to read to Scout, something he has done since she was an infant. Because of this attention, Scout knows how to read even before her first day of school. Even when Scout becomes frustrated at school due to the teacher and other students, Atticus talks to her like an adult so that she will not stay antagonistic against education. Atticus' actions reveal much about his character considering that southern culture at the time put a lower value on women’s education than it does today.

What are some historical events that happened in the book Fever 1793?

Laurie Halse Anderson's historical novel Fever 1793takes place in Philadelphia. As portrayed in the book, Philadelphia was then the nation's capital. The narrator of the novel mentions the State House, where the Congress then met. Coffeehouses, like the one portrayed in the novel, were common in Philadelphia at the time, and they were places where people could gather to speak about politics and to exchange ideas. The character of Eliza in the novel is...

Laurie Halse Anderson's historical novel Fever 1793 takes place in Philadelphia. As portrayed in the book, Philadelphia was then the nation's capital. The narrator of the novel mentions the State House, where the Congress then met. Coffeehouses, like the one portrayed in the novel, were common in Philadelphia at the time, and they were places where people could gather to speak about politics and to exchange ideas. The character of Eliza in the novel is a freed slave, and Philadelphia was home to about 2,000 freed slaves at the time. 

In addition, an actual yellow fever epidemic broke out in Philadelphia in July of 1793. It was the first significant yellow fever epidemic in the United States. Of the approximately 45,000 people then living in the city, 5,000 died and an estimated 17,000 left the city. Dr. Benjamin Rush, who is a character in the novel and who actually signed the Declaration of Independence, was a major figure in combating the disease. He believed in a treatment of giving his patients mercury and bleeding them. Dr. Rush mistakenly believed that African-American people were immune to the disease, and many African-Americans carried the responsibility of caring for sick patients. When they started to perish, this idea was discounted. While Dr. Rush praised their efforts, some in the community saw their work as an example of profiteering. Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, two African-Americans who had worked to help patients during the epidemic, published their own account of their work to discount these rumors. The Appendix (at the back of Fever 1793) provides more details about the historical background of the novel. 

What is the summary of "The Singers" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow?

"The Singers" is a poem about three different singers who are sent to the Earth by God. Their purpose is to sing a variety of songs and to

touch the hearts of men,

And bring them back to heaven again.

In the poem, each singer is in a different stage of life. The first singer is a young man who plays a golden lyre. He wanders as he plays his dreamy music. He is depicted as being carefree.

The second singer has a beard and...

"The Singers" is a poem about three different singers who are sent to the Earth by God. Their purpose is to sing a variety of songs and to

touch the hearts of men,

And bring them back to heaven again.

In the poem, each singer is in a different stage of life. The first singer is a young man who plays a golden lyre. He wanders as he plays his dreamy music. He is depicted as being carefree.

The second singer has a beard and it can be assumed that he is middle-aged because of the two singers he is between. He is a serious and contemplative person. He sings in the marketplace, and is

stirred with accents deep and loud

The hearts of all the listening crowd.

The last singer is an older man, whose hair is gray. This older man appears to be wise. When he sings, it is

in cathedrals dim and vast,

While the majestic organ rolled

Contrition from its mouths of gold.

People who hear all three of the singers cannot decide who is best. God looks at all three singers and knows that they each have a special gift. The gift of the young man is to charm. The gift of the middle-aged man is to strengthen. The gift of the older man is to teach. At the end of the poem, it is concluded that

He whose ear is tuned aright

Will hear no discord in the three,

But the most perfect harmony.

How does Harper Lee directly and indirectly characterize Mr. Avery?

A writer uses direct characterization by directly stating a character's physical, emotional, and/or mental traits. An example from the novel would be the presentation of Scout's teacher: "Miss Caroline was no more than twenty-one. She had bright auburn hair, pink cheeks, and wore crimson nail polish." 

Indirect characterization, on the other hand, requires that the reader infer what the character is like through what s/he says, what s/he does, and what others say about the character....

A writer uses direct characterization by directly stating a character's physical, emotional, and/or mental traits. An example from the novel would be the presentation of Scout's teacher: "Miss Caroline was no more than twenty-one. She had bright auburn hair, pink cheeks, and wore crimson nail polish." 

Indirect characterization, on the other hand, requires that the reader infer what the character is like through what s/he says, what s/he does, and what others say about the character. One must read carefully when determining characterization through what others say, because their opinions may not be accurate. An example of this inaccuracy would be the depictions of Boo Radley as a monster-like figure.

Mr. Avery is largely presented through indirect characterization. Our first glimpse of him shows him to be one who "makes change in the collection plate," leading us to infer that he is stingy. In addition, the same paragraph reveals him to be somewhat crude, as "a closer inspection revealed an arc of water descending from the leaves and splashing in the yellow circle of the street light, some ten feet from source to earth, it seemed to us." Here, Mr. Avery uses the restroom outside, oblivious to the fact that anyone can see him, including the neighborhood children.

Further indirect characterization leads us to conclude that Avery does not care for children. When it snows, an unusual occurrence for the area, he blames it on the kids: “See what you’ve done?” he said. “Hasn’t snowed in Maycomb since Appomattox. It’s bad children like you makes the seasons change.” As to his physicality, the sentence preceding this one directly characterizes Mr. Avery as flushed and portly: "He had a pink face and a big stomach below his belt."

What are antioxidants? Do they help treat cancer?

Cancers treated or prevented: Antioxidants are used to treat most types of cancer, although their effectiveness is questionable. They are usually taken for cancer prevention, although the link between antioxidant consumption and cancer prevention in humans is not proven.

Delivery routes: Oral, as tablets, caplets, capsules, powder, or tea; some fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants

How these compounds work: Free radicals are formed during normal cellular metabolism. Free radicals are compounds that are unstable because they contain an unpaired electron. This unpaired electron causes the free radical to react with other molecules in order to gain another electron, creating an electron pair and a more stable molecule. The process of gaining an electron is called oxidation. Antioxidants in the body react with free radicals and make them harmless to cells. Cells naturally make many antioxidants such as glutathione and coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone). When the number of free radicals exceeds the antioxidants available to neutralize them, however, the body develops a condition called oxidative stress. Oxidative stress appears to make cells especially susceptible to damage.

Free radical formation and oxidation are normal processes. Oxidation and oxidative stress, however, are thought to contribute to aging, as well as to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic diseases. In the absence of adequate antioxidant compounds, free radicals most often combine with and damage DNA, cellular proteins, and molecules in cell membranes. This damage can cause gene mutations and change cellular metabolism, which may lead to cancer and other diseases. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, radiation, cigarette smoke, and other known carcinogens increases the number of free radicals that are formed, suggesting another link between free radicals, oxidative stress, and cancer.

In theory, increasing the amount of antioxidants in the body should decrease the amount of damage to DNA and cells and reduce the risk of cancer. Antioxidants have been shown to prevent or slow the development of some cancers in cell cultures grown in the laboratory and in some animal studies. The results in human studies have been mixed. Despite claims by some manufacturers of antioxidant dietary supplements, no clear link between antioxidant consumption and cancer prevention or treatment has been established in humans. The role of antioxidants in the prevention and treatment of cancer is of high interest to research scientists. Many clinical trials are being conducted, and there is no cost for qualified individuals to participate in a clinical trial.

The body makes some antioxidants, but others must be acquired through diet. Common antioxidants that the body does not make include vitamins A, C, and E, carotenoids, and flavonoids. Selenium is a mineral that is not strictly an antioxidant but is essential to many antioxidant reactions and often classed with the antioxidants. Coenzyme Q10 and glutathione are antioxidants naturally produced by the body that are also manufactured sold as high-dose supplements.

Vitamin A (retinol) is a fat-soluble vitamin found in liver, egg yolks, whole milk, and dairy products made with whole milk. It is also sold as a dietary supplement and is included in most multivitamin tablets and in special antioxidant formulations such as ACE, a combination of vitamins A, C, and E. Vitamin A is essential to health, but its role in cancer prevention and treatment is unclear. All-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA, Vesanoid) is a pharmaceutical drug that is a derivative of vitamin A. It is successfully used to treat promyelocytic leukemia and is being studied in individuals with breast and skin cancers. To date, however, vitamin A alone has not shown the same cancer-reducing effects as ATRA.

Alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene are all carotenoids that show antioxidant activity in laboratory tests. These compounds are found in red, yellow, and orange plants such as carrots, cantaloupe, mango, and tomato. Beta-carotene and lycopene are also sold as dietary supplements either individually or in combination with other antioxidants. In the body, carotenoids are converted into vitamin A. An examination of twenty-one studies relating lycopene consumption and prostate cancer found that men with the highest lycopene intake had a modest decrease in the incidence of prostate cancer. The role of carotenoids in cancer prevention is actively being studied.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus fruits. For centuries, it has been known that vitamin C is essential for preventing the disease scurvy. Dietary supplements of vitamin C are often promoted as a preventive or treatment for the common cold, although clinical studies have not proved its effectiveness. Vitamin C has very strong antioxidant activities. Nevertheless, multiple human studies have failed to find a significant link between cancer prevention and vitamin C intake.

Vitamin E is a group of related compounds, the most active of which is alpha-tocopherol. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin with antioxidant properties. It is found in olive, sunflower, and safflower oils and in many nuts. The role of vitamin E in cancer prevention is controversial. The National Institutes of Health reported in 2013 that the antioxidant qualities of vitamin E make it possible to block the formation of carcinogenic qualities of various foods and damaging effects of free radicals. However, human trials and studies have not linked the intake of vitamin E with a reduction of cancer incidence. A 2014 study from the Public Health Sciences Division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center elaborated on this by stating that high doses of the vitamin have the potential for a heightened risk for developing prostate cancer in some men.

Flavonoids are a group of antioxidant compounds found primarily in brewed tea, red wine, dark chocolate, apples, berries, and citrus fruits. These compounds have antioxidant activity. Traditional Chinese medicine has promoted the health effects of green tea for centuries, and recent studies show that dark (bitter) chocolate in small quantities may promote heart health, but the role of flavonoids in cancer prevention is unclear.

Selenium is a mineral found in fish, shellfish, grains, Brazil nuts, and many vegetables that are grown in selenium-rich soils. By itself, selenium is not an antioxidant, but it plays a critical role in antioxidant activity and is often classified with the antioxidants that must be acquired through diet. Selenium deficiency has been linked to increases in colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers. Increased selenium intake in people who are not selenium deficient, however, does not decrease the risk of developing cancer. Additionally, selenium is toxic in large doses.

Coenzyme Q10 and glutathione are the main antioxidants made by the body. They are also sold as dietary supplements. Studies of individuals who supplemented their diet with synthetic coenzyme Q10 or glutathione found no evidence that these supplements protected against cancer.

Individuals who maintain a healthy weight and eat a diet low in fats and high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains develop cancer at a lower rate than individuals who eat a more traditional American diet high in fat and low in fruits and vegetables. The American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute recommend that individuals meet as many of their vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant needs as possible by eating a healthy, varied diet rather than by taking dietary supplements. As of 2014, neither organization recommended the use of antioxidant supplements to treat or prevent cancer.

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