Name _________________________________________________ Date _______________________

PSYC 100 (YANOS)

Chapter 1: The 7 Psychological Perspectives
Why is Grumpy Cat so grumpy?

1. Thinking from the perspective of biological psychology, what is a hypothesis you might have
about why Grumpy Cat is so grumpy?

My hypothesis is that the cat might inherit this kind of facial expression and emotion
from its parents. Or this could be some disorder or disease that it had that cause its face
just can express this kind of emotion

2. Suppose we take a time machine 10,000 years into the future, and find that a whole new species
of Large Grumpy Cats have taken over the world. Use the perspective of evolutionary
psychology to explain why this has happened.

It could be some dramatic changes in the environment and the whole earth happened that
caused the extinction of all kinds of animals. It could be a nuclear disaster, or pollution, and only
the Grumpy Cats can adapt and exist in that environment.

3. How might cognitive psychology explain Grumpy Cats grumpy behavior?

The Grumpy Cat could be taught and raised to have this kind of behavior. It owner prefer it to
have this kind of expression, or he/she wanted to make it became popular to earn money.

4. Lets suppose Grumpy Cat has to interact with other cats every day. Use the perspective of
social psychology to come up with a hypothesis about her grumpy behavior.

It may fight with the other cats which dont have the same behavior and expression. It doesnt
know how to communicate well and could be misunderstood by other cats about its thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors.
Name _________________________________________________ Date _______________________

5. What are three questions a developmental psychologist might want to ask to understand
Grumpy Cats behavior?

Whats its kind of cat, where is it from, whos it mother/father?

Whos its owners? How did they raise it?

Where does it live?

6. Suppose you are a clinical psychologist, and Grumpy Cat (who can magically talk) is your
patient/client. What sorts of things would you want to talk about?

Do you have any depression or fear? What are they?

Do you have any trouble with communication to other cats or people?

Do you think your behaviors and expressions are normal?

7. Grumpy Cat actually has a little brother called Cutey Cat and they have very different
personalities. What are possible explanations that could explain their individual differences?

They could have been raised separately. Or they have different father or mother. Or one of
them has suffered a disease or a special event when it was a kitten, but the other didnt.

BONUS: Integrative approach

Choose two of the seven approaches and integrate them together. For instance, Biological Psychology +
Developmental Psychology, or Social Psychology + Cognitive Psychology. Now use this new integrated
approach to come up with a more complex explanation of Grumpy Cats grumpy behavior.

The Grumpy Cat might have a special disease or it has a mutation in its gene that causes it has this kind
of behaviors and expression. It could be raised separately from its family since it was a kitten. The new
owner raised and taught it to have this kind of expression because of his/her preference or other
purposes (commercial).