BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORY (OR OPERANT CONDITIONING)

1. BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORY (OR OPERANT CONDITIONING) B.F. Skinner – we can only study what we can observe Response-Stimulus-Response model of learning Behavior produces an environmental effect which affects the likelihood of similar behavior in the future. *Behaviors are shaped by the consequences they produce.

2. Positive Reinforcement – When stimulus events have the effect of increasing the probability that a response will occur again. Negative Reinforcement – Removing a stimulus, usually an aversive one, when this removal makes a specified response more likely to occur. Punishment – Presentation of a stimulus that makes a specified response LESS likely. The bottom line is: We repeat behaviors which have, in the past, produced reinforcement, and we shy away from behaviors which have produced punishment.

3. Other Important Terms: Extinction – A decrease in strength of a conditioned response when it is no longer reinforced. Shaping – Reinforcing successive approximations to some final response. SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY A person learns through conditioning, but also by vicarious reinforcement (i.e., observers increase behavior for which they have seen others reinforced). Imitation – A process of: Acquisition, Retention, Motor Reproduction, Motivation

4. SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY Individuals are viewed as trying to maximize rewards and minimize costs. Outcomes = Rewards – Costs (Rewards include anything positive, desirable. Costs include anything negative, undesirable.)

5. STRUCTURAL ROLE THEORY One of the most reliable sociological findings is that people’s attitudes and behaviors vary according to the social position they occupy in the social structure. This theory would say that people are like actors following a script (role consensus is assumed).

6. The Fundamental Attribution Error The tendency to discount the role of the situation in affecting a person’s behavior and to over-estimate the importance of personal or dispositional factors. Why do we commit this error? A key point of Lovaglia’s: The situation is much more powerful than we think! How might a person use this information?

7. Affirmations Statements about what is good and positive for you. Techniques: writing statements, verbal statements, visualizing Can they work?? If so, why? Social Psychology tells us… Affirmations are behavior; we become what we do.

8. Self-Perception Theory Just as we observe others’ behavior, we also observe our own behavior. We infer how we feel by observing our own behavior.

9. What is an “attitude”? A relatively enduring organization of beliefs around an object or situation. (Each attitude is really a package of beliefs). How do we acquire attitudes? Instrumental Conditioning Modeling Direct Experience Genetic Factors

10. Cognitive Dissonance Theory Overturns the common sense notion that: Attitudes-------Behavior “dissonance” – A state of tension produced when elements are in conflict. How can we reduce dissonance? Selective attention Distort reality Lower expectations Seek support CHANGE ATTITUDE

11. When is dissonance likely? After making a big decision. When there is inadequate external justification for behavior. (“external justification” is situationally- determined) e.g., Festinger & Carlsmith study (1957) The key idea: If we can’t find sufficient external justification for our behavior, then we attempt to justify internally, by changing our attitude in the direction of our behavior. APPLICATIONS?

12. SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISMGeorge Herbert Mead Herbert Blumer coined the term, “symbolic interactionism” Blumer’s Propositions: • Human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that things have for them. • These meanings arise out of social interaction. • Social action results from a fitting together of individual lines of action. Two Schools of Thought: the Chicago School and the Iowa School

13. Symbolic Interactionism Assumptions: 1. Symbols transfer meaning in human interaction. 2. The individual becomes humanized (socialized) through interaction with people. 3. Reality is a process. 4. Human beings have the ability to act upon the environment. What kind of image do we get of the human actor? active, creative, shapers of our own reality, goal-seeking

14. Symbolic Interactionism Key Terms: Meaning Definition of the Situation – One’s cognitive idea of his/her place in social time and space that constrains behavior. Taking the Role of the Other Application: Labeling

15. Symbolic Interactionism Distinction between signs and symbols: A sign is directly connected to an object or event and calls forth a fixed or habitual response. A symbol is something that people create and use to stand for something else. (e.g., object, gesture, word)

16. Symbolic Communication & Language Communication requires 2 things: Speaking & Listening What do we mean when we say to our interaction partner: “Are you listening to me?!” Listening requires our responsive attention. “pseudo-listening” – We really aren’t paying attention to what the other person is saying, although we act as if we are. What are some listening situations that are difficult?

17. Symbolic Communication & Language Two types of meaning: denotative meaning – The literal, explicit properties associated with a word. (The dictionary meaning) connotative meaning – Cognitive and emotional responses one has to a word. (These meanings are personal) Importance of social context – Who are we with, and what is the situation?

18. Symbolic Communication & Language Nonverbal Communication paralanguage – All vocal aspects of speech other than words. body language – The silent movement of body parts. interpersonal spacing – How we position ourselves at varying distances and angles from others. choice of personal effects – Choices of clothing, etc.

19. PERSON PERCEPTION Data-------------------------Theory physical behavior dispositional traits verbal behavior (personality appearance characteristics) Biases: 1. Primacy Effect – People rely more heavily on the first info. they get on a person and tend to discount later info. 2. Implicit Personality Theory – Network of assumptions people make about the relationship among traits and behaviors. 3. Stereotypes – Given a group membership, we assume traits about a person.

20. ATTRIBUTION Attribution – The process of inferring the cause of others’ behavior. Attribution Theory is concerned with how people assign causes to events. It is the study of the way people think about other people. 2 types of explanations of behavior: dispositional & situational attributions

21. Attribution Biases: 1. Fundamental Attribution Error 2. Actor-Observer Differences – A difference between two points of view (that of the actor and the observer). 3. Self-Serving Bias – The tendency we have to attribute positive outcomes to our own dispositions and negative outcomes to situational causes. 4. Self-Defeating Bias – Undesirable behavior is attributed to negative aspects of the self.

22. Attribution Harold Kelley’s Attribution Theory We use 3 types of information in making decisions about the causation of action in a situation: 1. Distinctiveness – Observe actor in similar situations (low distinctiveness implies personal cause; high distinctiveness implies situational cause). 2. Consensus – Compare actor’s behavior to others’. (low consensus implies personal cause; high consensus implies situational cause) 3. Consistency – Observe actor’s behavior over time. (low consistency implies situational cause; high consistency implies personal cause)

23. Socialization Socialization is the process by which we acquire those modes of thinking, acting, and feeling that enable us to participate in the larger human community. Agents of Socialization are persons or institutions which influence our thoughts and behaviors. Examples? Reciprocal Socialization – Recognizes that socialization is not a one-way process; e.g., kids influence adults. Examples?

24. Socialization Developmental psychologist Kenneth Kaye “frames” – Tools that parents/adults use to organize time and space for child. Examples: nurturant, protective, instrumental, feedback, discourse Socialization is like an apprenticeship (i.e., it is a process; it is relational).

25. Socialization Social Learning Theory Socialization is accomplished through two processes: 1. Direct Learning – We are first socialized via our parents’ rewards and punishments (i.e., external reinforcement). Over time, we control our own behavior through self-reinforcement (internalization makes this possible). 2. Observation/Modeling

26. Socialization Piaget – Cognitive Developmental Theory Socialization is a process by which the individual develops from simple to complex. 4 stages: 1. Sensorimotor object permanence, cause-effect, recognitory schemes 2. Pre-Operational knowledge of symbols 3. Concrete Operational concrete operations such as conservation and serialization 4. Formal Operational abstract thought

27. Socialization Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson 8 Psychosocial Stages: 1. Trust vs. Mistrust 2. Autonomy vs. Doubt 3. Initiative vs. Guilt 4. Industry vs. Inferiority 5. Identity vs. Role Confusion 6. Intimacy vs. Isolation 7. Generativity vs. Self-Absorption 8. Integrity vs. Despair

28. Socialization Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development 1. The Pre-Moral Period 2. Heteronomous Morality – Strong respect for rules. Child is likely to judge the naughtiness of an act by its objective consequences rather than the actor’s intent. 3. Autonomous Morality – Rules are viewed as arbitrary agreements that can be challenged.

29. Socialization Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development – 3 levels: 1. Pre-conventional – Oriented to personal needs. 2. Conventional – Oriented to social rules. 3. Post-Conventional – Oriented toward making autonomous decisions. These developmental models feature stages that are step-wise and sequential – i.e., people go through the stages one after another. But…might individuals regress in their morality? Also, might one’s actual behavior fail to correspond to his/her moral judgments?

30. SELF Cooley’s Looking-Glass Self The process through which we develop our sense of self based upon the reactions of other people to our actions. G.H. Mead’s Stages to Becoming a Self: 1. The Play Stage 2. The Game Stage 3. The Generalized Other Two aspects of the self: “I” and “Me”

31. SELF self-concept: The sum total of beliefs you have about yourself. self-esteem: The evaluative component of the self-concept. situated self: The subset of self-concepts that constitutes the self we know in a particular situation. self-monitoring: Extent to which people use information about the environment as a basis for modifying behavior.

32. SELF mutable self: A self-concept that is highly adaptive to rapid social and cultural change. DOES OUR FAST-PACED SOCIETY REQUIRE THAT EACH OF US HAVE A MUTABLE SELF? DOES HAVING A MUTABLE SELF THREATEN THE SENSE OF HAVING A CORE, STABLE SELF? DO INDIVIDUALS EVER COMPLETELY CHANGE WHO THEY ARE?

33. SELF Identity Salience Our identities are organized hierarchically based on salience. Implications? 1. The higher the salience of an identity, the more often we will try to draw on that identity. 2. If a given identity is defined as highly important, we will be more inclined to develop it. 3. Highly salient identities can carry over.

34. SELF Aaron Beck’s concept of “personal domain” – Inclusive notion of what a person’s self consists of; everything that you care about and that is important for you to maintain. e.g., self-concept personal goals/motives moral rules/principles possessions significant others groups that have symbolic significance

35. GENDER ROLE SOCIALIZATION Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory – The key is the process of identification. Social Learning Theory – Imitation, reinforcement. Cognitive Development Theory – Gender is an organizing scheme for the developing child. Symbolic Interactionism – “doing gender” refers to seeing gender as an activity accomplished through social interaction.

36. Depression Characterized by the “cognitive triad” (Aaron Beck, MD) a negative conception of self a negative interpretation of life experiences a fatalistic view of the future The depressed person engages in “selective abstraction” – overinterpreting daily events in terms of loss.

37. Cognitive Therapy and Depression What we consciously think is what mainly determines how we feel. 5 tactics: 1. Learn to recognize automatic thoughts (ATs). 2. Learn to dispute the ATs by marshaling contrary evidence. 3. Learn to make different attributions (reattributions) and use them to dispute your ATs. 4. Learn how to distract yourself from depressing thoughts. 5. Learn to recognize and question assumptions that govern much of what you do.

38. For Discussion: WHY DOES COGNITIVE THERAPY WORK? THE ROLE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION – IS DEPRESSION CONTAGIOUS?

39. Attributional style of depressed person: He/she attributes bad events to causes that are internal, stable, and global. Good results are believed to result from situational, unstable, and specific causes (e.g., luck). Attributional style of ‘non-depressed” person: He/she takes a bright view of good events, attributing them to internal, stable, global causes, and also a bright view of bad events, attributing them to situational, unstable, specific causes.

40. Do those who are depressed take an unrealistically dark view? OR, do the non-depressed take an unrealistically bright view? Consider the studies by Alloy and Abramson in the 1970s -- People who are not depressed distort reality, while those who are depressed judge reality more accurately. Non-depressed subjects had an “illusion of control” Applications of this knowledge… Langer and Rodin’s study of residents in a nursing home – residents who were given increased control over their lives were more active, sociable, and vigorous than those who were not given increased control. Other applications?

41. Optimism and Illusion Martin Seligman’s theory of learned helplessness says that when people see that how they respond has no effect on a problem, they learn not to respond to problems in their lives. Seligman distinguishes between a pessimistic and an optimistic attributional style: Pessimistic: permanence, stability, self-blame (these factors lead to helplessness)

42. 3 Crucial Dimensions to your attributional style: 1. Permanence (permanent vs. temporary) 2. Pervasiveness (universal vs. specific) 3. Personalization (internal vs. external) Good Outcome – the optimist attributes this internally and stable; the pessimist attributes this externally, unstable. Bad Outcome – the optimist attributes this externally, unstable; the pessimist attributes this internally, stable.

43. For Discussion: HOW IS SELF-FOCUSED ATTENTION RELATED TO DEPRESSION? HOW CAN WE FOCUS ATTENTION OUTSIDE OURSELVES?

44. Influence How can we influence others? * Smile at people * Physical Attractiveness (this is a “central trait”) * Apologize when you offend someone * Self-Disclosure * Impression Management

45. Impression Management This approach comes from Erving Goffman. It is also known as “self-presentation theory” or “dramaturgical approach.” Front Stage – Where we try to manage our impressions. Back Stage - Where we plan. Use of props – Just as in theater, we use objects in our environment.

46. Impression Management Self-Presentation Strategies: * Intimidation * Supplication * Self-Promotion * Ingratiation What happens if we fail in our presentation of self? We feel embarrassed. We help one another save face.

47. Impression Management Another motive for impression management: self-construction (i.e., constructing a public image that is congruent with one’s ideal self) In our efforts to maintain a positive image, consider the importance of “definition of the situation”. We attempt to align our definitions and actions with one another. We may use techniques, such as: “disclaimers” and “accounts”

48. Ethnomethodology – The study of the everyday, common-sense understandings that people have of the world around them. (Harold Garfinkel) “breaching experiments” – Disrupt normal procedures. Why do people get so upset when apparently minor conventions of talk are not followed? Why study the common place?

49. Garfinkel’s “etcetera principle” – We use certain words or phrases in interaction to gloss over possible disruptions or misunderstandings – e.g., “you know,” “and so on”. Other examples? “Playing the Game” – Conversing with others about topics even though you do not have any expertise in the area. When can this be dangerous? What if we were to refrain from playing the game?

50. What we bring to a social gathering (consider how these things affect our presentation of self) CLOTHES SPEECH BODY COMPANION