In this essay I will evaluate and explain the Social Learning Theory (SLT), which explains aggressiveness from a behaviourism point of view. The opposite point of view is the biological point of view; they believe that aggressiveness stems from genetic ma
In this essay I will evaluate and explain the Social Learning Theory (SLT), which explains aggressiveness from a behaviourism point of view. The opposite point of view is the biological point of view; they believe that aggressiveness stems from genetic make-up. Together these two views can be seen as the nature and nurture debate; according to social psychologists aggression is learnt (nurture), from the view of the biological psychologists they believe aggression is innate (nature). Bandura and Walters's believed that aggression is learnt through indirect and direct reinforcement; however they did not dismiss the biological views on aggression and said that the behaviourist approach looks at how and when we aggress. The social learning theory has many research study's, the most popular being Bandura's study with the bobo doll. Bandura has children observing a model who interacted with the bobo doll, either aggressively or non-aggressively. The children were then 'frustrated' by taken to another room filled with toys, but they were told it was an error and had to leave. The children were then left alone with the doll whilst Bandura observed their behaviour. Bandura found that children who had observed the aggressive model would be aggressive towards the doll, and the children who watched the non-aggressive model either played with the doll in a non-aggressive manner or
Outline and evaluate two social psychological theories of aggression
Outline and evaluate two social psychological theories of aggression. (24 marks) Bandura believed that the potential for aggression may be biological, but the expression of aggression is learned. The social-learning theory (SLT) states that learning occurs through observation of a model. Imitation of an observed behaviour is more likely if the model is someone we aspire to or identify with or if they are rewarded. This is vicarious reinforcement. A child forms a mental representation of an event, including the possible rewards or punishments of the behaviour. When a child imitates an aggressive behaviour, they gain direct experience, and the outcome of the behaviour influences the value of aggression for the child. If they are rewarded they are more likely to repeat the behaviour. Children develop self-efficacy, which is confidence in their ability to successful carry out a behaviour. If aggressive behaviour is unsuccessful for a child, they will have a lower sense of self-efficacy so are less likely to behave this way in future. There is strong empirical evidence to support the SLT. For example, Bandura's Bobo doll studies found that children who observed a model behaving aggressively to the Bobo doll behaved more aggressively than those who observed a non-aggressive model and also imitated specific aggressive acts. This supports the theories claims that behaviour can be
Outline and evaluate two social psychological explanations for aggression
Outline and evaluate two social psychological explanations for aggression While there are many different approaches in psychology, perhaps the most believable, and ultimately provable approaches to aggression come from the social psychological approach: social learning theory and deindividuation. While the two theories differ in their context, they both assert that the explanations of behaviour, in this case aggression, originate from the situational context emphasising little importance on other factors such as biology, evolution or cognitive processes. The social learning theory (SLT) approach to aggression largely originates from the somewhat infamous work of Bandura. While SLT comes under the large umbrella term of behaviourism, it goes far beyond the simple stimulus response model, explaining in depth more complex and perhaps realistic explanations for behaviour. Aggression is learned either indirectly: through observational learning and only replicated if vicarious reinforcement occurs, or directly. This is where aggressive behaviour is directly reinforced. While both are a form of operant conditioning, the direct approach parallels the ideas much closer. Bandura outlined the following four steps in the modelling process of SLT: Attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. Attention is increased if the model is more prestigious, attractive or similar. This causes
Compare and contrast the main approaches - Biological and Behaviourist, biological and cognitive, Psychodynamic and Behaviourist.
Compare and Contrast the Psychodynamic and Cognitive approaches in terms of similarities and differences. [12 Marks] The cognitive and psychodynamic approaches have many similarities and differences; these include debates in nature and nurture, the usefulness of these approaches, deterministic and scientific/non scientific. The psychodynamic approach takes into account both nature and nurture, however the cognitive approach has failed to recognise the influence of nature and nurture. Freud claimed that adult personality is the product of innate drives (nature) and childhood experiences (nurture). These innate drives include the structure of the personality, Id, ego and superego as well as the psychosexual development every child passes through. If a child does not pass through these processes successfully it could lead to abnormalities in behaviour. The cognitive approach has carried out research into intelligence but has not looked at the influence of genes in its research or environmental factors (such as wealth) that could influence intelligence. Therefore this clearly indicates that both approaches are different in terms of nature and nurture. The cognitive approach is useful and has been applied successfully in therapy. As one of the core assumptions of the cognitive approach is that mental processes influence our behaviour, therefore if these process are
Describe and Evaluate two or more explanations of the pro-social effects of the media (24)
Describe and Evaluate two or more explanations of the pro-social effects of the media (24) One explanation of the pro-social effects of the media on behaviour comes from Bandura's Social Learning Theory. Bandura's research suggests that children learn through observing a behaviour, then later imitating it if the expectation of reward is high. For example the child needs to pay attention to a role model for example seeing a super hero, then there needs to be retention of the information into the LTM, reproduction, so the child imitates the same type of behaviour such as helping others, and finally the child needs to be motivated to imitate the behaviour such as, being the same gender. The process of social learning works in the same way for learning pro-social acts as seen on television as it does for learning anti-social acts (vicarious reinforcement). Unlike the depiction of anti-social acts, however, the depiction of pro-social acts (such as generosity or helping) is likely to be in accord with established social norms (e.g., the need to be helpful and generous to others). Assuming that these social norms have been internalised by the viewer, the imitation of these acts, therefore, is likely to be associated with the expectation of social reinforcement, and so the child is motivated to repeat these actions in their own life. Furthermore, Bandura would also suggest
Outline the clinical characteristics of one anxiety disorder
Outline the clinical characteristics of one anxiety disorder (10 Marks) Anxiety is an adaptive response, an individual with an anxiety disorder experiences anxiety that is disproportionate to threats that are presented. Phobias are the most common form of anxiety disorders. Phobias are an extreme irrational fear of certain situations, objects, people or activities; the level of fear is so great the object or situation is avoided whenever possible. Phobias are classified into three categories, specific phobia, social phobia and agoraphobia. Agoraphobia and social phobia usually interfere with the individuals' daily life, whereas specific phobia generally has less impact. Specific phobias are a fear of specific objects such as animals, the environment, a situation or blood and guts. The prevalence is 4-7% of the population. Specific phobias can be caused from direct experience, observation or from being told to fear the object. The clinical characteristic for this is for the individual with the phobia to avoid the feared object. The anxiety from the situation often results in restlessness, jumpy behaviour; in general the individual finds it difficult to relax and may experience a startled response when presented with the feared stimuli. Social phobias are due to the individual's self-consciousness of their behaviour and a fear of being negatively judged by others in social
Explain two specific behaviors using psychological perspectives
P4 - Explain two specific behaviors using psychological perspectives P5 - Use examples to explain the contribution of psychological perspectives to the management and treatment of two specific behaviors M3 - Analyze the role of psychological perspectives in understanding the two specific behaviors Introduction In this assignment I will be explaining two specific behaviors using psychological perspectives. In this part I will be talking about phobias and fears, and OCD. Every behavior of an individual has an explanation with psychological perspectives which makes us understand the behavior in more depth and why the individual is behaving accordingly. There are quite a few psychological perspectives that I have learnt about throughout my lessons. These are behaviorist, social learning theory, psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive, developmental and biological. All of these perspectives explain a certain behavior in a unique way to others, however some can be explained together and others on their own. Phobia and fears This is my first specific behavior which I will explain by giving three psychological perspectives. Phobia is an excessive fear or unreasonable irrational fear. However a fear is an unpleasant reaction when face-to-face with real danger. It could be towards someone, object, place, situation etc. there are many types of phobias which are towards all sorts
The cognitive perspective in psychology is often used to explain behaviour. Discuss the cognitive perspective in psychology. In your answer, refer to at least two topics that you have studied in psychology.
The cognitive perspective in psychology is often used to explain behaviour. Discuss the cognitive perspective in psychology. In your answer, refer to at least two topics that you have studied in psychology The cognitive approach focuses on the cognitive processes between the stimulus and response. It see's humans as information processors, much like computers, as information is received, processed and then used to guide behaviour. In 1973, Mischel distinguished five variables that influence the response to a stimulus. These variables are competencies, encodings, expectancies, values and plans. Together, they influence the attribution process and so affect behaviour. Unlike behaviourists, cognitive psychologists include the internal cognitive processes between stimulus and response and so when compared to the behaviourist approach, cognitive psychologists argue that humans make sense of the stimulus before responding, rather than simply responding in an unthinking way to a stimulus. However, the cognitive approach is often criticised for being too mechanistic and reductionist. This is because it reduces complex human processes and behaviour to those of a computer and ignores the fact that humans are biological organisms and are not machines. One topic that the cognitive approach applies to is anxiety disorders, and more specifically, phobias. Cognitive psychologists
OCR G544 - Using examples of research that you have studied, discuss the strengths and limitations of using the nurture debate to explain human behaviour (12 marks)
Nature vs. Nurture Q1) Using examples of research that you have studied, discuss the strengths and limitations of using the nurture debate to explain human behaviour. (12) The nurture debate in psychology aligns itself with explaining all human behaviour as a product of the environment that an individual lives in. It suggests that the people we interact with, the homes we grow up in and even the school experiences we have as we grow up are all influential on our behaviour later in life. In the longitudinal study by Farrington, et al. into delinquent development of boys in East London, he found that there are environmental factors that directly influence why young offenders become adult criminals. Negative school experiences, weak family bonds and growing up in an impoverished area where life prosperity is low were all contributing risk factors, but even so, this study does not attribute any behaviour to the nature side of the debate and therefore ignores important genetic factors that may also predetermine behaviour from birth (such as explored in a study by Raine where he observed brain dysfunction as a reason the crimes committed by serial murderers). Another weakness of the nurture debate is shown in Meichenbaum’s study, whereby a comparison group of students suffering exam anxiety enrolled on a course of systematic desensitisation – a behavioural method of treating
Describe and Evaluate features of one approach to Psychopathology
Describe and Evaluate features of one approach to Psychopathology Psychopathology is the study of psychological disorders, their natures and causes. One approach to psychopathology is the psychodynamic approach; literally an approach that explains the dynamics of behaviour-what motivates a person. Freud suggested that unconscious forces and early experience are the prime motivators. There are some key features to this methodology, the first being that when you repress memories for too long and do not deal with them you can develop psychological disorders known as neurosis. These can manifest as panic attacks, hysterical behaviour, phobias, compulsive or obsessive behaviour. Repressing memories does not mean to make the issues go away; it means to bottle up any bad memories from the persons past and try to forget them. The memories continue to haunt and affect normal day to day behaviour, which becomes neurotic behaviour. According to Freud many of the repressed memories began in childhood and remain in frozen unconscious. Sigmund Freud believed that much of our behaviour is motivated by our unconscious desires. . Freud believed that the mind was made up of an id- unconscious mind, ego-conscious mind and the superego- imposes a moral standard to our thoughts. The id contains Eros and Thenatos. This is the life and death wish. Abnormal behaviour was seen as being caused by
