Psy/400 - Social Psychology

Social Psychology

Social Psychology is one of the most interesting fields of psychology, as it studies and analyzes how individuals’ thoughts, behaviors and feelings are impacted and influenced by other individuals around them. There are many different aspects involved in the study of social psychology, some of them being group behavior, social perception, leadership, non-verbal behavior, conformity, aggression and prejudice (Cherry, 2013). In other words, social psychology tries to understand and explain causal and correlational human nature relationships. Although one of the key elements of social psychology is the influence society has on individuals, social perception and social interaction are also areas of interest in this field.

Definition of Social Psychology

The formal definition of social psychology can be explained as the discipline that uses scientific methods to explain and understand the thoughts, behaviors, and feelings as individuals interact with other individuals (Myers, 2010). This discipline’s main focus is on the way humans live and behave in society, and what shapes their interactions with others. 

How Social Psychology Differs from Related Disciplines

To understand the importance of social psychology, it is necessary first to be able to differentiate this discipline from others like personality psychology and sociology. The main aspect that differentiates social psychology from folk wisdom is the fact that the former relies mainly on subjective interpretation and personal observations, while the latter values the empirical study of social phenomena and the scientific methods (Cherry, 2013). The primary difference between personality psychology and social psychology is that personality psychology focuses mainly on individual traits and characteristics, while social psychologists are interested in how society impacts an individual’s attitudes and behaviors. Finally, it is also important to differentiate social psychology and sociology, since the two sciences are constantly mistaken for each other. Although sociology and social psychology study similar topics, what changes is the perspective from which the individual is being observed. Sociology has its main focus on the “cultures and institutions that influence how people behave, while psychologists instead focus on situational variables that affect social behavior” (Cherry, 2013).

Role of Research in Social Psychology

In order to better understand human nature, it is often that social psychologists propose theories and try to test hypothesis. Myers (2010) explains that theories are "integrated sets of principles that explain and predict observed events" (p. 17), or in other words, theories are ways of explanation to otherwise not completely understood observations. To be able to predict or explain behaviors, social psychologists develop studies and run experiments that observe humans and the way they interact. By observing and researching human behavior, scientists are able to understand the way individuals think, behave and relate to each other, and because of that research is a crucial element in social psychology. There are many different methods that may be used to conduct a research on social psychology topics, all of which allow researchers to test theories and hypothesis and try to find a relationship between variables. While conduction a research in social psychology, it is important for the scientist or psychology that always keep in mind the rule that correlation does not imply causation. “Although information on correlating variables may be valuable, it is not a reliable indicator of a causal relationship or whether another variable is involved” (Myers, 2010). 

The most often used methods of social psychology research are correlational or experimental. The correlational method tries to identify if two or more factors are associated, and to obtain answers and results scientists often use systematic survey methods and real world settings, like studies. Experimental research, on the other hand, tries to find evidence that supports a cause and effect relationship, and to prove that relationship scientists often manipulate and control some of the variables. “Experimental research is designed to explore cause and effect by controlling and manipulating variables and by random assignment. Such isolation and manipulation may provide enough evidence to attribute any resulting difference to one or another of the variables” (Myers, 2010). 

Conclusion

Although social psychology has very similar traits to other fields, its use of scientific method and understanding of the behaviors and thought processes of individuals in a society make it different from any other field of study in psychology. A better understanding in social psychology allows for psychologists and scientists to help individuals with personal growth and overall well-being, as well as adaptability and a successful life in society.

References

Cherry, K. (n.d.). What Is Social Psychology - An Introduction to Social Psychology. Psychology - Complete Guide to Psychology for Students, Educators & Enthusiasts. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://psychology.about.com/od/socialpsychology/f/socialpsych.htm

Myers, D. G. (2010). Social psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Psy/390 - Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning

From the very beginning of the history of psychology, psychologists and scientists have been studying the concept of learning, and the many different ways animals and human beings can store and access information. There are many difference theories associated with learning, all with their advantages, disadvantages and specific characteristics that try to explain the sometimes mysterious ways human minds work when trying to learn. Two of the most well-known learning theories are Skinner’s operant conditioning, which has already been studied and analyzed earlier in this class, and the Theory of Classical Conditioning, first studied by Ivan Pavlov and the subject to be studied and explained in this paper. This type of conditioning was the first type of learning discovered and analyzed by behaviorism, and because of this it received the name “classical” (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009). 

Discovered by Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov, classical conditioning is probably the most well-known aspect of behavioral learning theory, and it is a learning process that happens based on associations between a naturally occurring stimulus and a environmental stimulus (Cherry, 2013). The mains aspect of classical conditioning is the placement od a neutral signal before a reflex that would occur naturally, as it can be seen in Pavlov’s experiments with dogs. In that case, the sound of a bell worked as the neutral signal, since the dogs haven’t associated the sound with anything prior to the experiment, and the inevitable reflex was the dog’s salivation when presented with food. The objective of Pavlov’s experiment was to achieve the salivation without the food, but just with the sound of the bell. To better understand this concept, it is important to review the meaning of unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus and conditioned response. 

The unconditioned stimulus is one that does not need to be manipulated in order for it to trigger a response. For instance, with the case of the dog experiment, any dog would automatic salivate when presented with food, independently of being encouraged to do so. The food is, in this case then, the unconditioned stimulus. Following the same line of thought, the unconditioned response is what follows the unconditioned stimulus naturally, or in this case, the salivation. The conditioned stimulus is a stimulus that although used to be neutral, will trigger the conditioned response after being associated with the unconditioned stimulus. In the same dog experiment, the conditioned stimulus would be the bell, or the sound. This sound did not used to evoke any hunger feelings from the god, but after being repeated every time the dog received food, cause the association. In conclusion, the conditioned response is a learned response to the stimulus, or in this case, the salivation occurring at the sound of the bell (Cherry, 2013).

A possible scenario that can explain better the concept of classical conditioning and the elements associated with it would be, for example, the case of a man who is terrified of clowns. The man can’t explain why he hates clowns so much, but every time he sees one, even if just a picture or a movie, he immediately feels scared or discomforted.  When the man was a young child, his parent took him to the circus, where he saw a clown for the first time. That same day, in the midst of the confusion and large amount of people that were at the circus, the boy got lost from his parents, which caused him great fear and despair. While being lost, he kept seeing pictures of the clown on posters all around the circus’ property. Although no real tragedy came from this day, since the boy soon found his parents and returned home safely, he could never again see a clown without feeling scared, even after an adult man. In this scenario, being lost is the initial unconditioned stimulus. The natural unconditioned response is the fear, as any child would be scared of being lost from his family. The conditioned stimulus would be the clown, as the boy, even if he didn’t mean to do so, associated the clown’s presence with his moments of being lost and afraid. Consequently, the conditioned response is for the boy to be forever scared of clowns.  To better illustrate this scenario, below is a chart:

US (Unconditioned Stimulus) – Being lost from parents                           --à	UR (Unconditioned Response) – Fear and despair
CS (Conditioned Stimulus) – Clown + US – Being lost                     --à	UR – Fear and despair
CS – Clown                           --à	CR (Conditioned Response) – Fear and Despair

Classical Conditioning is still an important and present concept in many areas and fields of psychology. It represents the process by which individuals create a relationship between stimuli and responses, and it occurs involuntarily and without cognitive awareness. Even though there are many different elements present in the learning process in humans, classical conditioning is continuously present, as humans constantly learn by making associations.

References

Cherry, K. (2013) Classical Conditioning. Psychology - Complete Guide to Psychology for Students, Educators & Enthusiasts. Retrieved August 5, 2013, from http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/classcond.htm

Olson, M. H., & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to theories of learning (8th ed.).

Psy/390 - Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning

From the very beginning of the history of psychology, psychologists and scientists have been studying the concept of learning, and the many different ways animals and human beings can store and access information. There are many difference theories associated with learning, all with their advantages, disadvantages and specific characteristics that try to explain the sometimes mysterious ways human minds work when trying to learn. One of those theories was developed by behaviorist psychologist B. F. Skinner, who after experimenting with rats and pigeons identified a series of important and fundamental ideas of learning. Skinner’s theory is called Operant Conditioning, but it is also known as Instrumental conditioning or even Skinnerian conditioning.

Operant conditioning is a learning method that occurs through the application of rewards and punishments as ways to produce a desirable behavior. Skinner explained that the fundamental motivations for a determined behavior did not derivate from an internal source, such as thoughts or feelings, but from an external source, like the preceding circumstances or the posterior consequences to the behavior. Skinner once said that “we are what we have been reinforced for being”, and this affirmation is a perfect explanation of his theory, as the American psychologist believed that behaviors are consequences to the response emanated from that behavior in the first place (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009).  The theory of operant conditioning has its name because, as Skinner explained, the term “operant” refers to an "active behavior that operates upon the environment to generate consequences" (1953). 

One of the key concepts related to operant condition is the idea of reinforcements, which can be positive or negative. Reinforcement is an event that when associated to and occurring after a behavior, can strengthen it and increase the probability of that behavior repeating itself. Positive reinforcement can be praise, or a reward, while negative reinforcement is the removal of something unpleasant. In both cases of reinforcement, the expected outcome is the increase of the expected behavior. Punishment, on the other hand, intends to decrease the reoccurrence of a behavior by either presenting an unfavorable event, which is considered positive punishment, or removing a favorable event, which is called negative punishment. In operant conditioning, extinction can occur if a behavior is no longer reinforced, or if the type of reinforcement being used in not considered rewarding anymore. Interestingly enough, Skinner found out about extinction by accident, when performing an experiment with a rat, leaving the laboratory and experiencing malfunction with the equipment (Cherry, 2013).

The type of reinforcement that has proven itself to be the most effective one seems to be the positive reinforcement, as it is connected to the individual’s emotional side and can help building that individual’s confidence and self-esteem by awarding a behavior in a positive manner. However, different situations call for different reinforcement techniques. Sometimes, if negative circumstances have already been established, a negative reinforcement may be more effective. It is also important to note that the reinforcement will be less effective if the subject has no desire for the rewards. For instance, rewarding a child with a cookie, when the child is not hungry, will probably not affect the recurrence of the desirable behavior. 

One possible scenario where some type of reinforcement reinforcement would be successful in rewarding and repeating a behavior would be in the case of trying to potty train a child. Around the age of two, most toddlers begin to show signs of being ready to stop wearing diapers and start using the potty regularly. Creating a continuous reinforcement schedule where every time the child goes to the potty she gets a small reward, like a sticker on a board, and every time she has an accident she loses a sticker will incentive that toddler to make an effort to finally learn how to use the bathroom when necessary. However, on the case it would be important to establish a deadline, so the child doesn’t expect a reward for the rest of her life whenever she uses the bathroom.

The concept of operant behavior is one of them most important concepts in psychology because it allowed scientists, psychologists and parents in general to learn how important positive and negative reinforcements are when trying to induce an individual to produce a positive and desired behavior. Although behaviorism is not a dominant school of thought in psychology anymore, health professionals, teachers, parents and even animal trainers still constantly use operant techniques to obtain a desired behavior or prevent an undesirable one, and for that reason it is easy to see how Skinner’s contributions were vital to modern psychology.

References

Cherry, K. (2013) Operant Conditioning - Introduction to Operant Conditioning. Psychology - Complete Guide to Psychology for Students, Educators & Enthusiasts. Retrieved July 22, 2013, from http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/introopcond.htm

Olson, M. H., & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to theories of learning (8th ed.).

Psy/390 - Learning and Cognition

Learning and Cognition

Although it is an unobservable concept, learning is one of the most studied subjects in psychology. Psychologists have been for decades trying to understand and explain the mental processes involved in human learning, although observing and experimenting with learning is almost an impossible project. Because of this difficulty, psychologists have been observing and testing behaviors, in an attempt to understand learning. Behavior, unlike learning, is a verifiable phenomenon, and when associated with conditioning allows the researcher to come closer to explaining how learning occurs in human beings. 

Learning can be defined as a process of gaining and retaining knowledge, and the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, practice, or study, or by being taught. However, most psychologists believe that the definition of this important term is way deeper and more intrinsic than that. George Kimble suggests a definition that, because of being broader and more technical, is more accepted by many psychologists. He explains that learning is "a relatively permanent change in behavioral potentiality that occurs because of reinforced practice" (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 3). 

Learning is used by humans and animals as a primary tool for adaptation. Individuals use learning to adapt to their environment, and the only way to observe that learning experience is through observing behavior. By watching the way animals and human beings behave, it is possible to analyze what they have learned, and how they are evolving and developing their new skills. It is safe to say that behavior is a result of learning, as after learning a new set of skills, the individual’s behavior will be modified and adapted to this new acquired knowledge. Learning can be considered a relatively permanent change and behavior, and this change is caused due to experience. This idea of a permanent change excludes the variables that can come from specific situations. For instance, the temporary changes caused by fatigue, stress, motivation, or influenced by drugs can’t be considered learning, although all these factors can cause change in behavior (Changani, 2011).

When it comes to learning, there are two main types of conditioning that can be associated with it, classical and operant conditioning. As explained by Onson and Hergenhahn, a procedure that modifies behavior can be seen as conditioning (2009), and the first psychologist to explain the concept of conditioning related to learning was the Russian Ivan Pavlov, who used bells and meat to condition a dog to salivate even before he was presented with food. Both types of conditioning mentioned above explain how when behavioral changes occur, learning happens. Classical conditioning involves associating an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned response by repeatedly pairing a conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned response. On the other hand, operant conditioning, also known as instrumental conditioning, behavior is reinforced through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior. (Stone, 2011). Classical and operant conditioning are not the only methods that can result in learning, as individuals can learn skills without the use of conditioning. However, the learning that comes through conditioning is observable and understandable. 

It is easy to understand the relationship between learning and cognition, as both concepts are highly connected. Learning is the process by which individuals gain and store knowledge. Cognition is the processes involved in gaining skills or knowledge, and may include thinking, knowing, remembering and problem solving. For learning to occur, as most learning theories propose, many cognitive associations between stimuli and responses must happen. These processes are based on conditioning, training, or habituation, and the consequences that come from them are based on cognitive associations. To better exemplify, a child, by seeing a flower for the same time, doesn’t necessarily know that object as a “flower”. However, after someone points it out as being a flower, the child will make an association between the word and the object, thus learning its identity. In other words, learning is the result of several cognitive processes (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009). 

The process of learning in human beings may never be fully deciphered, but psychologists have come really close to understanding how conditioning and repetition influence the way individuals acquire, store and access new information. Advances in the technology, medical and psychology fields have allowed for specialists to understand and treat learning disorders, making it possible for individuals with difficulties learning and retaining information to live a normal and fulfilling life.