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1. 2014
Yohniki Gordon
[PSYCHOLOGY PRESENTATION
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Contents
Classical Conditioning ........................................................................................................................3
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY.........................................................................................................4
what is gene ? (in informal use) a unit of heredity which is transferred froma parent to offspring and is
held to determine some characteristic of the offspring...........................................................................6
what is behavior ?...........................................................................................................................6
Is behavior genetic or environmental? ..................................................................................................7
NATURE VS NUTURE.....................................................................................................................8
why hasn't the argument been won ? ................................................................................................8
REASONS WHYPSYCHOLOGISTS THINK PUNISHMENT IS INEFFECTIVE..............................10
FOR STRATEGIES USED BY PSYCHOLOGISTS TO HELP MICHAEL ADAPT MORE
DESIRABLE BEHAVIORS..............................................................................................................11
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................................12

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Classical Conditioning
 Based on Pavlov’s observations, John Watson suggested that the stages of classical conditioning
were able to explain all areas of human psychology.
 Patterns of stimulus and response ranges from things like speech to emotions.
 Classical conditioning theory involves learning new behaviour through
communication/association. Classical conditioning has three stages:
o Before Conditioning
In this stage,the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) produces an unconditioned response (UCR) in an
organism.
This stage also involves another stimulus which has no affect on a person and is called the neutral
stimulus (NS).
o During Conditioning
During this stage a stimulus which produces no response (i.e. neutral) is associated with the
unconditioned stimulus at which point it now becomes known as the conditioned stimulus (CS).
o After Conditioning
Now the conditioned stimulus (CS) has been associated with the unconditioned stimulus (USC) to create
a new conditioned response (CR).

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SOCIAL LEARNING
THEORY
• In social learning theory Albert Bandura (1977) states behaviour is learned from the
environment through the process of observational learning.
Key Point ofSocial Learning Theory are:
1. Learning is not purely behavioural; rather,it is a cognitive process that takes place in a social
context.
2. Learning can occur by observing a behaviour and by observing the consequences of the
behaviour (vicarious reinforcement).
3. Learning involves observation, extraction of information from those observations, and making
decisions about the performance of the behaviour (observational learning or modelling). Thus,
learning can occur without an observable change in behaviour.
4. Reinforcement plays a role in learning but is not entirely responsible for learning.
5. The learner is not a passive recipient of information. Cognition, environment, and behaviour all
mutually influence each other (reciprocal determinism)
 Individuals that are observed are called models. In society children are surrounded by many
influential models, such as parents within the family, characters on children’s TV, friends within
their peer group and teachers at school.
 Children pay attention to some of these people and encode their behaviour. At a later time they
may imitate the behaviour they have observed. They may do this regardless of whether the
behaviour is ‘gender appropriate’ or not but there are a number of processes that make it more
likely that a child will reproduce the behaviour that its society deems appropriate for its sex.
 First, the child is more likely to attend to and imitate those people it perceives as similar to itself.
 Second, the people around the child will respond to the behavior it imitates with either
reinforcement or punishment.
 Reinforcement can be external or internal and can be positive or negative.
 Reinforcement can be positive or negative, but the important factor is that it will usually lead to a
change in a person's behaviour.

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 Third, the child will also take into account of what happens to other people when deciding
whether or not to copy someone’s actions. This is known as vicarious reinforcement

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what is gene ? (in informal use) a unit of heredity which is
transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some
characteristic of the offspring.
what is behavior ?
the way in which an animal or person behaves in response
to a particularsituation or stimulus.

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Is behavior genetic or environmental?
behavioral genetics is the field of study that examines the role of genetics in animal (including
humans) behavior ,
History
The relationship between behaviour and genetics or heredity, dates to the work of the English
scientist Sir Francis Galton (1822–1911), Galton studied the families of outstanding men of his
day and concluded, like his cousin Charles Darwin, that mental powers run in families. Galton
became the first to use twins in genetic research and pioneered many of the statistical methods of
analysis that are in use today.
not until the 1970s that a balanced view came to prevail in psychiatry that recognized the
importance of nature as well as nurture. In psychology, this reconciliation did not take hold until
the 1980s. Much behavioral genetic research today focuses on identifying specific genes that
affect behavioral dimensions, such as personality and intelligence, and disorders, such as autism,
hyperactivity, depression, and schizophrenia.

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NATURE VS NUTURE
(DEBATE HAS NEVER BEEN WON)
this is concerned with the extent to which particular aspects ofbehavior are said to
be a productof either inheritance (genetics ) or acquired (learned ) characteristics
NATURE = GENETIC
NUTURE = ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ( an individual after conception,
through life experiences.)
why hasn't the argument been won ?
the argument has never been won due to the fact that we do not yet know much of what we are is
determined by out DNA and how much by our life experiences BUT for now we do know that
both play a part.

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It is generally believed that human behavior is
determined by complex interactions of both nature
and nurture.
For example, although environment has an effect on the walking behavior of infants and
toddlers, children do not usually begin walking before a certain time that is predetermined by
genetics. The genetic makeup of a child predetermines an age range for when a child will .begin
walking, but the influences in the environment determine how early or late the event will actually
occur.

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REASONS WHY PSYCHOLOGISTSTHINK
PUNISHMENT IS INEFFECTIVE
Firstly it creates resistance and does not address the issues at hand. For example the child will be
focused on how unpleasant the punishment is, and the lesson it would take from the whole ordeal
would be how to be more vigilant next time to not get caught. The child may even test the limits
to find out what it can get away with. For adults, this is apparent in terms of speed limits.
Although cognitive behaviorist may argue it serves as a negative reinforcement it fails in terms
of reasoning. And a lot can be gained from shedding light on what is undesirable about their
behavior.
Secondly it neglects seeing the consequences of their behavior by inciting blame at the punisher
by feelings of justifiable anger. Their 'wrong' deed is all but forgotten and all that is
acknowledged is oppression and indignation.
In the bigger perspective in terms of jail sentences and community service punishment may be
ineffective in preventing future offences because the offender may believe he has more to gain
than lose for there is simply a blanket punishment for all crime and that is jail time. Not to
mention the risk involved can be addictive.

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FOR STRATEGIES USED BY PSYCHOLOGISTS
TO HELP MICHAEL ADAPT MORE DESIRABLE
BEHAVIORS
Mold their Perception - perception is the process by which individuals select, organize and
intercept the input from their senses to give meaning to the world around them. so if a person can
influence the perceiver, the target and the situation then perception can be managed.
Drive their Momentum - By means of encouragement, assistance and rewarding, one can boost a
person's momentum and influence positive behavior in a persons. Maslow's Hierarchy of needs
which works on a different aspect of a person's life such as psychology needs, safety, belonging,
esteem and self actualization which can boost positive behavior in a person.
The behavioral patterns of Michael could be studied which would lead to the understanding of
why Michael behaves in such a manner. Whether it be that he seeks attention from his mother or
father or he lacks something of important in his life. It could possibly me a toy or maybe even a
true friend.
The actions of Michael could also be reinforced. Therefore meaning that whatever is done by
Michael is met with a reward or a consequence. If Michael behaves in manner that is deemed
unbecoming of the young man his mother want he could reinforced by being scold, punished or a
possession taken away. Whereas if Michael acts right he is blessed with a reward that he'll like.
This will lessen the occurrence of his bad behavior and improve the possibilities of Michael
behaving good.

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REFERENCES
McLeod, S. A. (2008). Classical Conditioning. Retrieved from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html
McLeod, S. A. (2008). Social Learning Theory. Retrieved from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/sociallearningtheory.html
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/02/15/punishment-a-cultural-phenomenon/
http://www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_learning_theory