Lecture 8: Social Learning And Behaviour

Question 0

What is cognition characterised by?

Answer 0

Individual differences in perception

Subjective interpretation of ones environment and relationships

Question 1

What is cognition?

Answer 1

The mental processes involved in acquiring, representing and processing knowledge (thinking, remembering, perceiving and communicating)

Question 2

What is the relationship between cognition and learning?

Answer 2

People actively think about behaviour and outcomes
We are able to detect the contingencies
Learning is not automatic or mindless, it has a cognitive component to it

Question 3

What is observational learning?

Answer 3

Not a separate form of conditioning, but extends operant and classical conditioning.

Where learning takes place vicariously through observing others’ (model) conditioning

Question 4

What does the invitation of a models behaviour depend on?

Answer 4

Prestige of the model
Likeability and attractiveness of the model
Whether the model was rewarded or punished for their behaviour

Question 5

What are the basic processes in observational learning?

Answer 5

Attention
Retention
Reproduction
Motivation

Question 6

What are some applications of observational learning?

Answer 6

Survival
Treatment of phobias
Behavioural intervention programmes (modelling)
Modelling medical procedures (diabetes)
Motor skill learning (sports coaching)

Question 7

Describe maslow’s theory of hierarchical need

Answer 7

Biological: need for food, water, oxygen, rest, sexual expression, release from tension
Safety: need for security comfort, tranquility, freedom from fear
Attachment: need to belong, to affiliate, to love and be loved
Esteem: need for confidence, sense of worth and competence, self esteem and respect of others
Self actualisation: need to fulfil potential, have meaningful goals

Question 8

What are the issues for personal achievement?

Answer 8

How we define our need for achievement

A basic need to strive for achievement and how we do so

Question 9

What did David McClelland find..

Answer 9

Attributions for success and failure consists of:
Judgements about the causes of outcomes
Locus of control orientations (internal vs. external)
Stability / instability over time
Global vs. specific

Question 10

Why must we accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative and don’t mess with mister in between?

Answer 10

When you cannot control your environment you become anxious and it impacts on your ability to learn - particularly for children

Question 11

What does cognitive social theory state?

Answer 11

We form expectations about the consequences of our behaviours

Question 12

What is locus control?

Answer 12

The expectancy as to whether or not fate determines outcomes in life

Internal- belief that own actions determine our fate
External- belief that our lives are governed by forces outside our control or by people more powerful than ourselves

Question 13

What are people who associate failure with internal causes more at risk of?

Answer 13

Depression

Question 14

What are people who see their health as under their own cool more likely to do?

Answer 14

Practice good health care habits

Question 15

What is learned helplessness.

Answer 15

An expectancy that one cannot escape aversive events

Question 16

What are the deficits in learned helplessness?

Answer 16

Motivational- slow to initiate known actions
Emotional- appears rigid, lifeless, frightened and depressed
Cognitive- demonstrates poor learning in new situations

Question 17

What is the effect of inescapable shock on avoidance learning?

Answer 17

There were a higher % of dogs learning the avoidance response under control than those whom were shocked

Question 18

How is learned helplessness related to depression?

Answer 18

An individuals explanatory style can determine whether they develop depression during aversive events

E.g. Optimistic style = health, credits success to internal factors, fables to external factors, confident for success

Pessimistic style= unhealthy, credits success to Effexor or luck and failure to lack of ability. Low expectation of success

Question 19

What is self efficacy?

Answer 19

The beef that one can perform adequately in a particular situation

Question 20

What influences self efficacy?

Answer 20

Victorious experience
Mastery experience
Persuasion
Emotional arousal

Question 21

What is attribution theory?

Answer 21

A social cognitive approach to describing how we use information to infer other people’s mental states and explain our behaviour

Question 22

What are external or situational attributions?

Answer 22

Behaviour is due to the situation e.g. The boss yelled at me because this is April 15 and the taxes are not done

Question 23

What are internal or dispositional attributions?

Answer 23

Behaviour reflects the person e.g. He boss yells at everyone because he is a hostile person

Question 24

What is the covariation principle?

Answer 24

People attribute a behaviour to a causal factor if that factor was present whenever the behaviour occurred and was absent whenever it didn’t

Question 25

What is the covariation principle opposite to?

Answer 25

Cnditioning

Question 26

What are the three things to do with the covariation principle ?

Answer 26

Distinctiveness- specificity of a behaviour to a particular situation
Consistency - repetitivity of behaviour in response to this situation
Consensus - do other people behave this way in the same situation?

Question 27

What are the two man errors of attribution?

Answer 27

Fundamental attribution error and self serving bias

Question 28

What is fundamental attribution error?

Answer 28

A dual tendency for observers to underestimate the impact of external factors and to overestimate the impact of internal factors

E.g Cultural bias: western cultures favour internal or dispositional factors when making attributions whereas collectivist cultures favour external or situational factors when making attributions

Question 29

What is self serving bias?

Answer 29

The tendency for us to attribute personal successes to internal factors and personal failures to external factors

Question 30

What is a positive effect of self serving bias?

Answer 30

Preserves self esteem in the short term

Question 31

What can self serving bias get in the way of?

Answer 31

identify causal relations when evaluating performance/effort/behaviour in life outcomes

Question 32

What are emotional responses to success regarding the attribution of ability?

Answer 32

Competence in oneself,
Confidence,
Pride
Relief

Question 33

What are emotional responses of failure in the attribute of ability?

Answer 33

Incompetence, resignation, depression, guilt

Question 34

What are emotional responses to success in the attribution of effort?

Answer 34

Relief, contentment, relaxation

Question 35

What are emotional responses to failure in the attribute of effort?

Answer 35

Guilt, shame, fear

Question 36

What are emotional responses to success in the attribution of others’ actions?

Answer 36

Gratitude, thankfulness

Question 37

What are emotional responses to failure in the attribution of others’ actions?

Answer 37

Anger, fury

Question 38

What are emotional responses to success in the attribution of luck?

Answer 38

Surprise, guilt

Question 39

What are emotional responses to failure in the attribution of luck?

Answer 39

Surprise, astonishment