Operant Conditioning
Summary Question…
• Please write your individual response
a piece of paper (remember to show
analysis)
– How does operant conditioning play a
role in human behavior? Provide
examples.
Cognitive Learning –
Warm-Up
• Working with your group. Evaluate the
following statement:
– Children learn to be more violent from
watching television violence.
• Write your response on your group
response sheet. Please use the knowledge
that you have gained from your reading.
Cognitive Learning – 3 types
Emphasizes the role of mental processes
• Insight learning – Wolfgang Kohler
– The light bulb just goes off!
• Latent Learning – Edward Tolman
– No reward offered, but I’m still going to
learn it.
• Observational Learning – Albert Bandura
– “I learned it from watching you!”
Social Learning Theory
• Observational Learning
– Occurs when an individual response is influence by the
observation of other, called models.
– Pioneered by Albert Bandura, who showed that
conditioning does not have to be a project of direct
experience.
– Depends on the process of attention, retention,
reproduction, and motivation.
– Stressed that performance of response depends on
reinforcement.
– Can explain why physical punishment tends to increase in
children even when it is intended to do the opposite.
– Can explain why exposure to media violence correlates
with increased aggression.
Social Learning Theory
• Albert Bandura
– aggression is
learned through a
process called
behavior modeling
– He stated that
many individuals
believed that
aggression will
produce
reinforcements.
Bobo Doll
Experiment
(Really a Study)
What the theory is missing…
• It does not adequately explain
differences in gender.
• It can not be measured – NOT really
an experiment – it was a correlational
study!!!
• Aggression is complex – there are
many of factors that play a role (i.e.
environment, chemical imbalances,
etc.)
Role of Biology & Culture in Learning…
• Learning is adaptive in that it enhances an
individual's ability to survive.
• Biological constraints on learning including
innate predispositions influence the
likelihood that conditioning can occur.
– Instinctive drift occurs when an organism's
instinctive behavior makes it easier or harder
to establish a learned response than it would
be if the instinctive behavior were not present.
• Culture also influences the kind of
learning that can occur, and the
environment may limit learning
opportunities
Violence in Children’s
Media
• Hypothesis
– Watching violent acts on television
increases the likelihood of a child
demonstrating violent behaviors.
• Operational definitions
– Age group of children the class will be
exploring
– What constitutes a violent act?
Video Clips
• We are going to view three different
cartoon clips
• For each clip, you must gather
statistical evidence:
–
–
–
–
Record the type of media
Its title
The age it is feared toward
the number of violent acts
Gather Your Data
Violent Acts
• Physical Violence
(hitting, kicking,
slapping, etc.)
• Emotional Violence
(neglect, verbal
abuse, teasing, etc.)
• Sexual Violence
(harassment, sexual
assault, statutory,
etc.
•
•
•
•
Bombs/Explosives
Intolerance
Drugs/Alcohol
Animal Cruelty
Our findings…
1.
2.
3.
4.
According to your data, which cartoon was more
violent?
Compare your data with the data of your group
members? Why would people have different
data after watching the same clip?
Discuss whether or not these acts contribute to
the increase in violence in society today?
What are some possible confounding variables?
Part III - Viewpoints
• Please apply the following theories to the
topic of violence in the media. Respond to
the following questions:
– What leads to violent behavior?
– How might watching violent films/cartoons lead
to an individual committing a violent act?
– If a stage theory, what stage would the
children watching the cartoons by in and how
might that impact their behavior?
• Behaviorist (Operant Conditioning
“Skinner” or Classical Conditioning “Pavlov”)
• Social-Cognitive (Observational Learning
“Bandura”)
• Psychodynamic (Psycho-Social Development
“Erikson” or Psycho Sexual Development
“Freud”)
• Humanistic (Hierarchy of Needs “Maslow”)
• Cognitive (Moral Development “Kohlberg”)
Part IV – Your Perspective
• Do you think that watching violent acts on
television leads to committing violent acts?
You must support your response with at
least one of the previously mentioned
approaches or evidence collected from an
outside source. You should write your
response on a separate piece of paper 
Summary Question
• Please write your response on your group’s
response sheet.
• Compare and contrast classical
conditioning, operant conditioning, and
social learning. Be sure to address the
mechanisms by which the three types of
learning take place, and typical situations
in which each might occur.
Panel Discussion
• Each group will be assigned a stance of the
following issue:
– A new elementary school has been proposed.
The community is attempting to decide what
type of learning structure should be in place.
– Your group will either advocate for:
• a reliance on the principles of cognitive
learning, especially observational learning, to
establish appropriate student behavior and
learning.
• a reliance on the principles of operant
conditioning.
Group Roles
• Facilitator: Keep your group on task. You will only
be given 20 minutes. Also, you will be able to ask
pro and con questions.
• Expert: You will play the scientist that will
advocate the groups point.
• Assistant: You will assist the scientist in
advocating his/her point.
• Hostile Reporter: You will generate a list of
questions to ask the opposing side.
• Public Relations Reporter: You will generate a list
of questions to ask your expert.
Each Group Should
• Generate statements and points for
the Expert and Assistant to use to
argue the point.
• Generate a list of questions that
challenge the opposing side.
• Generate a list of questions that will
help your Expert and Assistant.
Rubric
•
•
•
•
•
Staying On Task:
Staying in Character:
Familiarity with Position:
Challenging Opposing Position:
Supporting your Position:
– Total (50 points)
10 Pts.
10 Pts.
10 Pts.
10 Pts.
10 Pts.
What Do You Think…
• Which learning structure do you
really think would be most
appropriate?
• What type of learning structure is in
place at Reservoir High School?