Need motivation

I took a biological psychology class this semester…thinking it would be really interesting and fun…and also hoping to continue the upward trend in my gpa. I broke the curve on the first exam (it was really luck) and was feeling good about things…the next time around, I still managed a low A…and the next time around, I ended up with a B+…same amount of studying and same amount of interest/enthusiasm on my part…that’s just how the cards were dealt…The running joke about these exams is that you can study for two weeks or two hours…at the end of the day, understanding concepts and being able to understand what brain regions are important or responsible is just not important…the professor uses some multiple choice test data bank that asks sort of…off the wall questions.
Today, score another B for me (86) mad.gif I’m so upset because I have put a lot into this…it was about homeostasis and sleep cycles…and was fairly involved regarding neural pathways, etc…which I could draw out for anyone who asked at this point.
Here is an example of a question that tripped me up:
Why do blue jays not eat monarch butterflies:
a. they have toxins
b. they make the birds sick
c. because monarchs sometimes teach birds lessons
d. all of the above.
This is what I knew going into the exam about monarchs…they eat milkweed as caterpillars and it causes a buildup that is toxic to blue jays. The birds do vomit and they never again touch a monarch…even if it is the only food available to them. The conditioning is immediate following one taste.
So…I agreed with a…and b…but not C. First of all, what are the monarchs teaching? algebra??? I found that to be a teleological explanation for butterfly behavior…and…lets face it…monarchs don’t ‘sometimes teach birds lessons’…the aversion conditioning happens after one bite due to the toxin. It is a onetime deal…so there isn’t a periodic "sometimes’ about it. I couldn’t imagine that that answer would be correct…I just couldn’t. So…I chose A…even though the toxins do make the birds sick…I just couldn’t choose C…it is wrong in my mind…and maybe I’m just thinkin’ about this too much…
So after all was said and done…the answer to my response was…too bad…yup…the question is poorly worded and you should have chosen D for all of the above.
I am just feeling so frustrated…I have to take two more mini-exams before the final…and I am struggling now to motivate myself to care. I feel like no matter how much or little I do it doesn’t matter in the scheme of making a good grade…You can read 30 pages on neural mechanisms of eating behavior, memorize and understand all of the pathways in the brain possibly responsible for feeding, satiety, etc…and never once be tested on that material…instead you get questions like the above monarch one…I’m just…ticked off. I actually left the room crying today…(pregnant/hormonal…I know!) I just don’t want to take any more exams…I’m tired of it.
Someone help motivate me…please.
Kris

I agree… what kind of fricking question was that…
how retarded!

Ah, I used to hate those type questions. But, if you don’t overthink it, C is also correct. Why? Because A and B are correct.
Think about it, if the monarch is toxic and makes the birds sick, then that’s why they don’t eat it. They have learned that eating a monarch butterfly will make them sick. You said it yourself.

QUOTE
The conditioning is immediate following one taste.

Boy, somehow now that I’m through, at least until August, with questions like that, it somehow seems easier.
Hang in there, and try not to overthink your answers. Go with your gut instinct. If you know a and b are correct, then even if you doubt c, you have to go with all of the above.
But, all in all, it still looks like you’ll end up with an A. Don’t kick yourself over exams that are over. Just learn from them and move on.
Best of luck!

Also, when it for sure is two of the possible answers but you cannot choose a&b or whatever, then it must be all of the above.

I tend to think like efex in these situations. If I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that two of the three answers are correct, then I’ll assume the third one is as well and go with “all of the above”.
My reasoning is either I’m just not seeing it, I didn’t study enough, the prof was smoking crack when they wrote the test…or all of the above.

QUOTE
My reasoning is either I'm just not seeing it, I didn't study enough, the prof was smoking crack when they wrote the test...or all of the above.

Crack me up.....Thanks for the responses guys. Actually, now that I think about it, I was really, really overthinking the question. The exams for this course have been really disappointing. For our first exam (neuroanatomy) I actually went as far as to go to the bio lab and dissect a sheep's brain on my own. I wanted to be sure that I was fully prepared! The exam ended up being a blow-off 25 question test with absolutely NO anatomy questions on it...it was the weirdest thing. Instead, this prof. chooses to ask questions like "which psychologist said .........." Of course....there are at least 25 quotes a chapter and the text discusses more about these things sometimes than the actual biology...I am reminded now why I didn't choose to continue my studies in psychology many moons ago! I find that very frustrating because the course is booked as a 'biological psychology' course. Another favorite question of mine was when he asked us what chromosome a gene was on....there was no mention of it anywhere in the text...and when I approached him about it (I did happen to guess the right answer, interestingly) he swore up and down that it was in the book! No one could find it...So..I'm voting for the smoking crack, taking meds...or using questions from an old test bank wink.gif
In any case, I just took my last exam before the final.....If I fail the final I still get a C+....So....I'm just forcing myself to relax....hey..we're all almost to the end of the semester now!
kris