Observational Learning

Childhood and adolescence are viewed as times for growth and exploration. It is when young people learn to make decisions and overcome metaphorical roadblocks. Rarely, however, are these young people alone. Many children and teenagers have parents or parental figures they can turn to for advice. These older, wiser individuals serve as a source of mentorship to the youth who look up to them.

From birth throughout adulthood, our behavior changes as we learn new things. For example, I am going 65 mph on the I-95 towards Philadelphia and a car in the right lane cuts short in front of me, I am able use my fast reflexes to step on the brakes just in time so that I do not hit the back of the car. There are three different types of learning: associative, non-associative, and observational. Associative learning is when we form connections between stimuli, and behaviors. This type of learning helps us to predict the future based on past history. Associative learning is broken down into two subcategories: conditioning and operant conditioning. In classical conditioning, connections are made between pairs of stimuli that happen sequentially in time. For example, if someone sees a bee of the first time and then gets stung, a connection is made between seeing the bee and the pain of the sting. In order to understand the method of classical conditioning, you must know the difference between conditioned and unconditioned stimulus. A conditioned stimulus deals with an important environmental event that is

During the teenage years they will become responsible for their own thoughts, words and actions. A capacity for higher order reasoning will develop, and individual personalities will appear and form. They will be able to combine and classify items in a more sophisticated manner, and begin to consider their futures. Support, guidance and help, on moral, ethical, social, economic and cultural issues, at these stages of development, can have a huge

Our understanding of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning has allowed us to unlock many of the answers we sought to learn about human behavior. Classical conditioning is a technique of behavioral training, coined by Ivan Pavlov, which basically states that an organism learns through establishing associations between different events and stimuli. This helps us understand human behavior in an assortment of ways. It makes it clear that almost everything we do is based on patterns of stimulus and response. For example, if you were bitten aggressively by a dog as a child, you may be still scared of dogs today. That is because the dog caused you pain, which in turn caused you have anxiety towards dogs.

1. Chapter 10, Adolescence: The Social World goes in depth with human relationships among adolescents; teenagers are social beings, in which they rely on others’ opinions, company, and validation, in order for them to seek and find their true identity; who they are and where they belong (Berger, 365). Identity is the state of achievement when a “person understands who he or she is as a unique individual, in accord with past experiences and future plans,” they figure out their own goals, values, and ambitions, eventually leading them to the path in finding self-actualization (Berger, 351). Continuing on, relationships between parents and adolescents are not always peaceful due to arguments that have to do with teenagers’ “drive for independence, arising from biological, as well as, psychological impulses and social expectations clashes with the parents’ desire for control,” (Berger, 357). This section states that bickering indicates a healthy family due to conflicts indicating close relationships. Of course consequences and many factors that alter and influence adolescents’ thinking and behavior are present. Furthermore, this section explains the results of neglect, mental, emotional, and physical abuse to an individual, in which peer pressure can happen. Peer pressure is when “people of the same age group encourage particular behavior, dress, and attitude,” peer pressure is usually seen as a negative influence upon an individual’s growth and behavior that is contrary to

Behaviorism establishes basic assumptions regarding behavioral analysis. The most prevalent of these assumptions is that all behavior is learned from the environment (McLeod, 2007). The behaviorist perspective proposes two main processes whereby people learn from their environment, these processes are called classical conditioning and operant conditioning (McLeod, 2007). Classical conditioning revolves around learning new behavior via the process of association (McLeod, 2007). This means new behavioral responses are made when two stimuli are linked together (McLeod, 2007).

Unlike classical and contiguity theories which are ultimately based on the association, operant conditioning is a learning strategy in which behaviour is influenced by the threat of consequence or punishment - such as having to repeat a test if mistakes are made.

Learning theories are the structural foundation used to label how information is processed, stored and encoded during learning. Retention of knowledge is subjective and influenced by outside factors such as, an individual’s cognitive ability to process or retain information. Other influences are environmental, emotional or preexisting experiences or associations (Andreassi, 2000). To gain a better understanding of behaviorism in correlation to learning theories it is crucial to understand and grasp the meaning of associative learning. This process involves the association between two stimuli or a behavior and a learned stimulus. Associative learning is divided in to two central techniques, classical conditioning and operant condition. Classical and operant conditioning are basic methods of learning and conditioning is used to adapt a behavior or association through a stimuli or consequence (Ciccarelli, 2012). While classical conditioning and operant conditioning are key elements in associative learning, they have significant differences. A clear contrast between the two theories is whether the behavior or response produced is considered to be voluntary or involuntary.

Conditioning is a type of “associative learning”, occurring when a behavior is linked to an event or condition in the environment (Feist et al., 2015). There are two forms of conditioning: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is an associative learning when organisms learn from the “consequences” of their action or behavior (Feist et al., 2015). Edward L. Thorndike found that a certain behavior occurs more often with “rewarding consequences” (Feist et al., 2015). The “law of effect” describes this concept: the likelihood that a behavior gets repeated depends on the consequences of a behavior (Feist et al., 2015). Thereby, operant conditioning, as defined by B. F. Skinner, is the

According to Carter (2002), Sanders & Epstein argued that despite the fact that adolescences need more independence than young children, they need to know that they still have the full support and confidence of parents, teachers and community members. While I agree with sanders and Epstein’s view, I believe that when relating to adolescences it is important that the adults in their lives to do impose too much of their belief on how to do things. From my observation and experience it makes teenage children become rebellious and resentful of parental involvement. I believe teenage children need a little room to make mistakes and learn from them. They need to be develop a sense of autonomy and responsibility. I have seen situations where despite parental warning and advice about participating in unproductive activities some adolescences still engaged in these

In behavioral psychology there is classical conditioning and operant conditioning, both processes lead to learning. There are several differences between these two conditioning. To be a classical conditioning there must be a reflex behavior in the association. As for an operant conditioning it doesn’t require a reflex association, but much rather a purposeful behavior. Classical conditioning involves pairing stimulus to stimulus and is an involuntary response. Operant conditioning is quite different, its focuses on the purpose of behavior voluntarily and it involves the receiving a reward or punishment to a behavioral response. Operant conditioning consists of organisms being active and is subject to positive or negative consequence. Each of

According to behaviorism, the focus is usually on behaviors that are objectively observable while offering a discount on the mental activities. Given that learning refers to the acquisition of new behavior, one of the common among the learning theories is the classic conditioning. Also referred to as the Pavlovian conditioning, the theory of classical conditioning is one that has been used repeatedly to provide an explanation and an interpretation of human behavior from different aspects. For instance, the theory of classical conditioning has been used to explain behaviors related to phobia, source of emotions, and feelings of nervousness among others. In this case, therefore, it is evident that classic conditioning refers to a process of learning through temporal association where two events that occur closely in a repeated manner become fused together in a way that produces the same response (Goldman,

There are many different kinds of ways that people and animals learn. People can adjust the way they learn to the different situations in which they are learning and what they have to learn. One form of learning is known as conditioning. Conditioning emphasises the relationship between stimuli and responses. The two types of conditioning found are Classical conditioning and Operant conditioning. Learning may occur in different ways. Psychologists have distinguished between different types of learning, these being Observational Learning and Insight Learning.

To begin, Henry undoubtedly displays a certain level of self-efficacy. HE has always, “…believed that with enough hard work and intelligence, any problem can be solved”. This reflects Henry’s high degree of self-efficacy with the belief that he can overcome any obstacle if he tries hard enough. At his law firm, he was offered a partnership after five years due to his impressive work ethic, and his ability to, “…balance multiple cases and clients”. An effect of self-efficacy that Henry demonstrates is selection. Since he has a high sense of self-efficacy he chooses to take on more challenging tasks such as billing eighty hours per week, which he initially did to work towards his partnership. However, he demonstrates great effort and persistence

The social environment of teens holds an enormous influence on how the teens act and behave. Teens are easily influenced by their surroundings and they look to others for guidance. Their behavior results from that of the parent and peer influences. Parents play a particularly influential role in their child’s life and it is up to them to make sure that they are leading their sons or daughters in the right directions. A teen’s peers also play a large role in how the teen behaves when the parents are not around. A teen’s social environment, consisting of family and peers, plays a vital role in their life, therefore becoming the ultimate cause of juvenile delinquency.