Lecture 19: Social Learning & Identification

Question 1

What is this section about?

Answer 1

Behavioral consequences of media use

Question 3

Social Cognitive Theory

Answer 3

• Albert Bandura
• Behavioral acquisition
  
  • Modeling or observational learning
  • A linear sequence
• Modeled event (stimulus) –> Attention -> retention –> production –> motivation –> Matching pattern (response)
• learning from the media, more likely to learn from the media content when an image is rewarded (thin bodies are rewarding in the media by being called beautiful so you are more likely to learn/believe that the thin body is something you have to adopt) (when aggressive behavior is rewarded, such as video games, then players are likely to learn aggression but if an aggressive attack is condemned by a news reporter than you are not as likely to learn that)

Question 4

Elements of Social Cognitive Process

Answer 4

• Communication
  
  • ” A major function of modeling is to transmit info to observers.”
  • Such info can be conveyed through:
    
    • physical demonstration
    • pictorial representation
    • verbal description
• Imitation: behavioral acquisition
  
  • Similarities between an observer & the model
  • Identification of an observer with the model.
• Rehearsal
  
  • Encoding
  • Time-space transformation
• Behavioral reproduction
• Reinforcement: punishment or reward

Question 5

Mare’s & Woodard’s Study on TV viewing

Answer 5

• 34 studies of positive effects of watching TV

Question 6

National Television Violence

Answer 6

• % of programs with violence (1995-58%, 1997-61%)
• Percentage that show long term consequences (16% both years)
• % of violent scenes with no remorse, penalty, or criticism (1995-73%, 1997-71%)
• % of perpetrators who are attractive (1995-37%, 1997-39%)

Question 7

Effects of Violent Video Games (Anderson & Bushman)

Answer 7

• Bigger effect size on aggresive behavior, cognition, affect, and physiological arousal
• Negative effect on helping behavior

Question 8

More About Game Play: Input and Process

Answer 8

• Input
  
  • Content, plus enactment experiences
• Process
  
  • From observational to enactive learning
  • Identification with the character

Question 9

Gaming as an Enactive Experience

Answer 9

• The player assumes the role of a character & enacts what the character does
• “Increases self-relevance of events in the mediated world.”
  
  • Automatic self-concept: unconsciuosly activated and accesible conception to self
  • Indentification involves a “temporal shift” of players’ self-preception through adoption of valued properties of the game character

Question 10

Summary

Answer 10

• Social Cognitive theory
  
  • Positive and negative behavioral effects
  • Observational learning (model or imitation)
  • Positive or negative reinforcement
• General Aggression Model
  
  • Mediating route: internal state
  • Situational variations
• Identification
  
  • Intensifying or amplifying effect
  • Self-preception