Learning Approaches and Social Cognition: An Analysis of Conditioning and Attribution
Social psychology examines how individuals perceive and interact with their social environment. This paper explores key concepts in social cognition, focusing on learning approaches, self-fulfilling prophecies, and cognitive heuristics. By analyzing these topics, we gain insight into how people make sense of the world around them and form impressions of others.
Learning Principles in Media Examples
Learning theory distinguishes between three main approaches: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning (Bandura, 2018). These principles can be observed in various media depictions, illustrating their relevance to everyday social interactions.
The Office clip demonstrates operant conditioning. Characters likely modify their behavior based on rewards or punishments received in the workplace setting. For instance, employees may adjust their actions to gain approval from managers or avoid negative consequences, reinforcing certain behaviors over time.
The Big Bang Theory scene appears to showcase observational learning. Characters often learn new social skills or behaviors by watching and imitating their peers, particularly in situations involving social norms or interpersonal dynamics (Masia & Chase, 2019).
The Big Daddy excerpt likely illustrates classical conditioning. A neutral stimulus may become associated with a particular response through repeated pairing, potentially influencing characters’ emotional reactions or expectations in specific contexts.
These examples highlight how learning principles permeate popular media, reflecting their significance in shaping human behavior and social cognition.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Tiffany’s Case Study
Tiffany’s situation exemplifies a self-fulfilling prophecy, where initial beliefs lead to behaviors that ultimately confirm those expectations (Jussim et al., 2020). The process unfolds as follows:
Initial belief: Tiffany believes her peers are irresponsible.
Behavior based on belief: She makes backup plans and attends events inconsistently.
Others’ reaction: Friends become uncertain about Tiffany’s attendance.
Confirmation of initial belief: Friends begin to “blow off” arrangements with Tiffany.
Reinforcement: Tiffany’s original belief about others’ irresponsibility is strengthened.
This cycle demonstrates how initial perceptions can shape social interactions, leading to outcomes that reinforce preexisting beliefs, even if they were initially unfounded.
Heuristics and Biases in Medical Decision-Making
The scenario involving Linda and Dr. Miller illustrates several cognitive heuristics and biases that can influence judgment and decision-making processes:
Availability heuristic: Dr. Miller’s recent experiences with similar patients likely make addiction-related explanations more readily available in his mind, potentially biasing his diagnosis (Tversky & Kahneman, 2019).
Confirmation bias: The physician may selectively focus on information that confirms his initial hypothesis about anxiety and drug withdrawal, overlooking alternative explanations for Linda’s symptoms (Nickerson, 2023).
Anchoring bias: Dr. Miller’s expertise in addiction may serve as an anchor, causing him to overemphasize addiction-related factors in his assessment of Linda’s condition (Furnham & Boo, 2021).
These cognitive shortcuts can lead to errors in judgment, as demonstrated by the misdiagnosis in this case. Recognizing and mitigating these biases is crucial for improving decision-making processes, particularly in high-stakes environments like healthcare.
Conclusion
Understanding learning principles, self-fulfilling prophecies, and cognitive biases provides valuable insights into social cognition and human behavior. By examining these concepts through real-world examples and case studies, we can better comprehend how individuals perceive and interact with their social environment. This knowledge has implications for improving decision-making processes and interpersonal relationships across various domains of life.
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Description & Instructions for the Active Learning Activity
After reviewing the Week 1 materials (specifically this TedX video on classical vs. operant conditioning ), please complete the following instructions:
In Chapters 1, 4, and 2, beyond learning the purpose for social psychology, we gained knowledge about ourselves and how we make sense of the world around us using social cognition and different approaches to learning.
In the Tedx, you received further explanation of Pavlov’s famous study examining these approaches to learning. Now, you should be a pro (well, almost!) with understanding and differentiating between the three types of learning (i.e., classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational conditioning). We are going to test that knowledge and more via written replies posted to our module’s discussion board.
Prompt #1: Principles (i.e., approaches) to Learning
After watching each video (click the hyperlinks below, or visit page 15 of the Social Cognition slide deck), choose the principle(s) of learning that can best explain each video. Then, explain why you choose your answer:
Classical (associational) learning
Operant learning
Observational learning
The Office – ______
Big Bang Theory – _______
Big Daddy – ______
Prompt #2: Self-fulling prophecy
Explain why this case is an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Describe each step of the self-
fulfilling prophecy:
Tiffany has a hard time trusting other people her age because she believes they are
irresponsible. Accordingly, when she makes dinner plans with one friend, she also makes
backup plans with someone else, and she goes to one or the other. Her friends soon in turn
begin to “blow off” their arrangements since it is not clear if Tiffany will show up.
Prompt #3: Heuristics and Biases
What heuristics and bias did you find in this scenario? At least three heuristics and biases are
represented in this example. Find them, identify them, and justify your answer:
One day, a 28-year-old female patient, Linda, is sent to an emergency department from a
nearby addiction treatment facility. Her major symptoms are anxiety and chest pain that
have been going on for about a week. She is concerned that she may have a heart problem.
The emergency physician, Dr. Miller, who signs up to see Linda, has a sort of expertise in
addiction; he knows addiction-related symptoms well and he recently has treated some
patients like Linda, who were hospitalized at the addiction treatment facility.
When Dr. Miller checks Linda’s cursory examination, he concludes that she has nothing
wrong with her heart. Then, he advises her that she has an “anxiety state”, which is a typical
symptom of drug withdrawal. Linda is returned to the addiction treatment facility, where she continues to complain of
chest pain, but is reassured that she has a normal cardiogram and has been “medically
cleared” by the emergency department. Later in the evening, she suffers a cardiac arrest and
passes away. The autopsy result reveals that she has serious problems in her lung, which
caused her death.
Description & Instructions for the Active Learning Activity
Now that you’ve had time to settle into the course, it’s time for a bit of knowledge recollection! After reading Chapters 4 and 6 last week, in addition to watching the video lectures, you know a lot more about how you view yourself as an individual and in comparison to others, but also how you form impressions of others and make attributions for their characteristics or behaviors. In this week’s discussion, we are going to consider how limited information, such as physical characteristics, leads us to form attributions and affect our perceptions of others.
For full points
POST 1: Post an initial response consisting of 3 images of a celebrity you know little about. In 150 words, describe what those images make you think of that celebrity (e.g., they are serious; kind; someone you would/wouldn’t hangout with).
POST 2: THEN, do a bit of Googling to learn more about that celebrity. After you’ve done this, reply to your initial post with how your initial thoughts and impressions might have changed. Were there any inaccuracies in your impression? Why, or why not? What might these inaccuracies say about us as judgement makers? How might these little informed impressions be harmful?
In no less than 150 words, please reply to each of these questions. Replies to your classmates aren’t mandatory, but encouraged and will further your learning.
NOTE: Visit the Discussion Rubric listed in the” Course Documents” Tab for an explanation of how you will be graded.
