Observational Learning

Question 1

observational learning

Answer 1

changing behaviour by watching others

Question 2

modelling

Answer 2

seeing someone do something and then doing it like (“imitating”) them

Question 3

imitate

Answer 3

do something the same way someone else does

Question 4

Do genes contribute to cooperation?

Answer 4

yes, we are genetically predisposed to cooperate with one another because it is adaptive (increases our chances of survival)

Question 5

What are the four steps of observational learning?

Answer 5

1. attention = seeing someone doing something
2. retention = remembering it and imagining it in your head
3. reproduction = doing the behaviour over again
4. motivation = getting the thing you want, so continuing to do it (or not, so trying again)

Question 6

rewarding stimulus

Answer 6

something we see someone else getting that we want to happen to us, too

Question 7

Give an example of a rewarding stimulus.

Answer 7

a good deal on a car that you want to buy

Question 8

Catharsis Theory

Answer 8

• theory withOUT a lot of evidence
• theory that explains why watching behaviours can actually decrease similar behaviours in the person watching
• people who watch something violent will be able to release (let go of) their own violent feelings
• therefore predicts that if they feel less violent, they will not be as aggressive

Question 9

Social Learning Theory

Answer 9

• theory WITH a lot of evidence
• children who watch violent television programming go through the modelling process
• which means that they will repeat the actions of the people they see on the television
• therefore predicts that aggressive behaviour will increase from watching violent television shows

Question 10

Describe the experiments of Albert Bandura.

Answer 10

• experimental group of children watched an adult woman hitting a doll with a hammer, jumping on it and pounding it, throwing it across the room, etc.
• control group just watched a video of an adult woman with the doll in it
• experimental group repeated the behaviours of the adult woman in the video
• conclusion: children imitate violent acts from videos and repeat them
• children also showed more general acts, like using toy guns or aggressive words, which they did not see, so they also learned to become even more violent just by watching an adult
• supports social learning theory

Question 11

Which experiments support social learning theory?

Answer 11

• Albert Bandura’s experiments

- experiments with violent pornography

Question 12

What are the established effects of television violence on children?

Answer 12

1. decreases empathy
2. gets children used to seeing violence
3. gives examples that can be modelled

Question 13

What is the effect of pornography on violence against women?

Answer 13

people who watch violent pornography DO have ATTITUDES of higher ACCEPTANCE of violence towards woman

Question 14

What makes determining the relationship between violent pornography and violence against women difficult?

Answer 14

• we cannot actually do experiments where we measure real violence because that would be unethical and illegal, so we can only do correlational studies, but CORRELATIONAL STUDIES CANNOT ESTABLISH CAUSATION
• correlational studies could therefore only be done on people who are already in prison, but there are TOO MANY CONFOUNDING VARIABLES on such subjects

Question 15

Describe an experiment that can be done to determine the effects of watching violent pornography?

Answer 15

1. take 50 people
2. split them into two groups randomly
3. show experimental group pornography with violence
4. give both groups a survey with questions about how much the person ACCEPTS violence against women
5. then make an average “acceptability of violence towards women” score

Question 16

What do we know about videogames and aggression? Why might this be?

Answer 16

• games with fantasy violence makes children more aggressive
• games with realistic violence makes children less aggressive
• this might be due to Catharsis Theory, where children who see real violence get to get rid of their violent feelings

Question 17

What can caregivers of children do to help reduce effects of violent television on children?

Answer 17

1. watch at least one episode
2. discuss with child why violence occurs
3. discuss why violence is faked
4. show children more television with MODELS OF COOPERATION
   * children who see models of cooperation have more success in life!

Question 18

exposure therapy

Answer 18

a type of therapy where someone is gradually introduced to a stimulus, by observational learning, that he is afraid of

Question 19

Describe how exposure therapy might work.

Answer 19

1. fear stimulus = child has a fear of dogs
2. establish relationship with therapist
3. first session: show child video of another child playing with a dog; make sure the child is doing all four parts of the modelling process:
   - attention = talk with the child about the video
   - retention = ask them later about the video so you know they understand
   - reproduction = ask the child later to do what they saw in the video with a stuffed animal
   - motivation = ask the child if they feel good, so they realize there is something good if they do
4. second session: now get a little closer to actually playing with the dog, for example go to the park and show them someone playing with a dog and see if they can do it
5. third session: now introduce them to a nice, calm dog

Question 20

Describe two examples of how someone can exploit Social Learning Theory to manipulate others’ behaviour.

Answer 20

• people who are playing music for money on the street can put money in first to make it look like other people are putting money in
• laugh tracks, which are the sound of people laughing on a TV show, can be models for the audience, and they might imitate it and start laughing

Question 21

State the factors that determine whether or not we will imitate behaviour.

Answer 21

1. uncertainty of the situation: when we don’t know what to do, we always look around for someone who looks like they know what they’re doing
2. similarity of the model: we are more likely to imitate behaviours of someone that we admire or can identify with