View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does each human brain cell contain in its entirety?

2. What are our brains wired to do as far as complicated tasks are concerned?

3. Why does Alberts take along a tape recorder on his journey?

4. What tells us that we experience the world as it actually exists?

5. What does Eagleman say can get in the way of our efficiency?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the example of the chicken sexers that Eagleman discusses.

2. What does Eagleman say about how vision works?

3. What is the simple experiment Eagleman asks the reader to perform?

4. What does Eagleman say the experiment with the photographs of women illustrates?

5. What gap does Eagleman explore in Chapter 3?

6. What has given greater insight into the workings of the mind since Freud's time?

7. Why is it an advantage to be able to do things without the use of the conscious mind?

8. Summarize the experiment Eagleman writes about concerning photographs of women and how men responded.

9. What does Eagleman say our intuition tells us about our experience of the world and is the intuition accurate?

10. What is another illustration of how one reacts to something before the person is even aware of the situation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Our conscious minds represent only a small part of the activity of our brains. As evidence, Eagleman refers to the common experience of reacting to something before a person is fully aware of what is happening, such as when a car backs out in front of a driver and the driver has already stepped on the brakes before he fully "sees" the other car. Major league baseball players are able to hit 100-mph fastballs even though they must begin their swing before their brains have had time to visually process the image of the approaching ball.

1. Discuss an incident in your life in which you reacted to a situation before you fully realized what the situation was and relate this to Eagleman's ideas of the unconscious reacting. Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

2. Do you think Eagleman is correct that our conscious minds only represent a small part of the activity of our brains? Why or why not? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

3. Discuss the ways in which Eagleman's assertion about the unconscious has changed the way you view your behavior. Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Eagleman dismisses the assumption that all people are equally equipped to make sound and rational decisions. We are all at the mercy of the unconscious workings of our minds, and our ultimate behavior is a result of the biological balance within our brain. As an example, he points out that the overwhelming number of criminals are male. This suggests that there is a genetic component to the balance among the various rival parts of the brain.

1. Do you think that all people are equally equipped to make sound and rational decisions? Why or why not? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

2. Do you believe you are at the mercy of your unconscious mind? Why or why not? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

3. What kinds of balance between emotional and rational thoughts and feelings do you encounter in your life? Does the rational or emotional part of your brain have more sway over you? Why? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

What we like is also determined largely by unconscious thinking and a natural tendency to like ourselves, Eagleman claims. This is called "implicit egotism," and is a well-established phenomenon, he explains. It is illustrated by the fact, for example, that people marry others with first names that start with the same letter more often than would be expected by chance. Eagleman claims this is because we implicitly prefer others that are like ourselves in some way.

1. Discuss how you feel about yourself and whether you think your feelings stem from your unconscious. Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

2. Do you think most people like themselves? Why or why not. Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

3. Do you think it is a positive trait that a person likes him/herself? Why or why not? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,321 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample