AP Seminar Free-Response Questions Notes
Humor in the Workplace
Introduction
Patrick Malone's article "Go Ahead, Laugh!" discusses humor in the workplace.
Humor is a double-edged sword that requires a balance of taste, timing, and intellect.
Some organizations view humor as detrimental to professionalism.
Laughter may be met with scorn, and those who engage in it may be seen as less serious or capable.
The Decline of Laughter
Alison Beard's 2014 Harvard Business Review article notes that adults laugh only four times per day, despite exposure to numerous stimuli.
People laugh less as they age.
A 2002 study of 2,500 Australians found that over half would take a pay cut for more fun at work.
Gallup research indicates that disengaged employees laugh less during the workweek than on weekends.
Benefits of Humor
A committed workforce can coexist with fun in the office.
There's a difference between being sober and having fun while working.
The latter can benefit the body, mind, and organization.
Physiological Benefits
Laughter is a full-body endeavor.
It improves immune function by increasing immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies.
Lee Berk and William Fry's study assessed laughter's impact on cortisol production (a hormone that suppresses immune function).
Laughter increases the production of cells that help the body fight infection.
Laughter improves the elasticity and function of blood vessels, protecting against cardiovascular disease.
Michael Miller and William Fry linked laughter to increased blood flow.
Laughter impacts the endothelium, allowing it to dilate and expand, increasing blood flow to the heart, lungs, and brain.
Humor helps the brain normalize dopamine levels, positively affecting motivation, attention span, mood, and learning.
When participants viewed funny cartoons, the limbic system (which regulates neurotransmitters) was stimulated.
Endorphins produced by laughter benefit the mind by enhancing focus.
By reducing stress and enhancing mental energy, laughter frees the mind from overwhelming thoughts and emotions.
The resulting balance of mind, body, and emotion leads to inspiration, hope, and engagement with others.
Psychological and Social Benefits
Nowhere is the role of humor and laughter tested more intensely than in the workplace.
The combination of deadlines, external pressures, and personality conflicts make for a less-than-optimal setting for comedic repartee.
The benefits of laughter in the workplace, however, are significant.
Laughter in an organization is a guaranteed morale booster that can build trust.
People enjoy coming to work when they feel connected to those with whom they serve, and when they feel good while they’re there.
Shared laughter allows people to be comfortable letting their guard down and showing their authentic selves.
This window to vulnerability is a foundation for building trust.
Innovation and Productivity
An environment infused with humor can also increase innovation.
Chris Robert's study at the University of Missouri-Columbia revealed that humor is something that is generated from inconsistency, meaning that people are more likely to laugh at things that do not normally fit together.
The very combination of words or deeds that don’t customarily tie with one another stirs a reaction.
As Robert notes, this is the same thing that occurs in the creative mind—putting variables together that do not normally belong that way.
It’s the foundation of creativity from which so many organizations can benefit.
Robert also goes on to suggest that productivity and employee retention is positively impacted by humor.
Since humor leads to positive emotions, and positive emotions make individuals feel good, they naturally communicate better, become more committed team members, and work harder.
This also improves retention since happy, productive workers are less likely to leave their jobs.
Organizational Benefits
A 2012 study in the Journal of Managerial Psychology revealed organizational benefits to workplace humor.
Humor is connected with positive workplace outcomes, including improved performance, enhanced employee satisfaction, better workgroup cohesion, healthier employees, less burnout, and reduced stress.
Conclusion
Laughter is somewhat of a mystery to modern science.
This is partly due to the challenges in creating the proper scientifically sound settings in which to test the impacts of humor.
Controlled environments aren’t always the most conducive to natural reactions.
After all, if laughter is nothing else, it is a natural reaction.
"High-school seniors’ college enrollment goals: Costs and benefits of ambitious expectations"
Introduction
High educational expectations are an important source of motivation for youth, particularly when obstacles arise or when other factors, such as lack of resources, threaten goal attainment.
High expectations reflect optimism and ambitiousness, two constructs which, in their own right, have been shown to promote perseverance when encountering difficulties.
Optimistic biases, in particular, have been linked to higher levels of educational attainment, subjective well-being, and general health.
The Downside of High Expectations
High educational expectations per se are not always beneficial.
Cultural values (e.g., “The American Dream”) and societal institutions (e.g., a multi-tier school system) influence the impact of ambitiousness on educational outcomes.
Heckhausen and Chang (2009) investigated the impact of ambitious long-term expectations among youth in two countries with different educational systems: Germany and the United States.
In Germany, youth are channeled into different career trajectories early on through vocational training and apprenticeships, with little opportunity for later switching.
In the U.S., even youth who perform poorly in high school have the opportunity to obtain post-secondary education.
In the German system, aspirations are most effective when they are calibrated to academic performance and resources.
Heckhausen and Chang (2009) found that in the U.S., ambitious expectations, regardless of performance or resources, are most effective in producing high educational attainment.
Consequences of Falling Short
What happens if one falls short of one’s expectations?
One of the reasons it is difficult to make generalizations about the impact of falling short of educational expectations is that responses to failure vary and are highly dependent on attributions.
For some young people, failure might damage their self-concept, feelings of self-worth, and sense of competence.
In part due to the possible negative consequences of falling short of one’s expectations, some educators have argued for a more realistic matching or congruence of expectations with academic preparation, performance, and abilities.
Alternative Perspectives
Other researchers have argued in favor of fostering ambitious expectations.
For example, even if youth fall short of their expectations, they have considerable control over their lives—more control than other age groups—as well as several viable alternatives to pursue if they do not attain their goal.
Rather than ruminate on not attaining the goal, youth are likely to continue pursuing other goals, such as alternative educational goals or career and family goals.
Individuals use a variety of compensatory strategies to reduce possible negative consequences after failure or when goals become temporarily unavailable.
For example, individuals downwardly adjust goals to focus on those which are more attainable, use self-protective strategies to maintain self-esteem, or disengage from the goal altogether.
These strategies allow the individual to protect existing motivational resources and re-engage with new and more attainable goals.
"Quest" by Carrie Williams Clifford
The poem equates the speaker's goal with the outermost star, yet also finds it within their own soul.
The quest is to know oneself, which requires exploring the unfathomed sea of one's being.
The soul contains all thought, mystery, and wisdom of the infinite mind.
To discover this, one must voyage far, ultimately finding it within their own heart.
"This Eminent Scientist Says Climate Activists Need to Get Real" - Interview with Vaclav Smil
Focus on Material Reality
Vaclav Smil emphasizes the importance of understanding the fundamentals of the global economy, particularly in terms of materials like cement, steel, plastics, and ammonia.
He argues that these "four pillars of modern civilization" rely heavily on burning fossil fuels.
Critique of Rapid Decarbonization
Smil rebukes those calling for rapid decarbonization, stating that it's not feasible given the scale and complexity of the global economy.
He differentiates between energy transitions affecting small populations versus those affecting billions, emphasizing the enormous scale of a global transition.
The Problem with Unrealistic Goals
Smil criticizes setting aspirational goals he deems "delusional," arguing they are misleading and ultimately discouraging when they cannot be achieved.
He advocates for strict realism in setting goals, suggesting that focusing on achievable targets is more productive.
Consumption Choices and Rational Goals
Smil points to consumption choices, such as driving SUVs and building larger houses, as contributors to climate problems.
He suggests implementing policies to incentivize smaller cars and penalize SUVs as a means of influencing consumption.
Transition and Innovation
Smil argues that continuous transitions to lower-carbon or noncarbon sources have been ongoing for decades, along with improvements in energy efficiency.
The Importance of Realism and the Middle Ground
Smil emphasizes the need for solutions based on natural law, thermodynamics, and energy conversions, rather than political ideologies.
He believes that effective solutions will emerge from a "dull, factually correct and accurate middle," rather than from extreme positions.
He acknowledges that the realities of the world tend to be unpleasant, discouraging, and depressing, but emphasizes the importance of facing them to find practical solutions.