Psychology as the behaviorist views it

Outline for Social Issues
Joel B. Jerume

PSY 803

Grand Canyon University

Comment by Maureen Oates: Date needs to be added to this line.

I. Introduction

It is argued that the environmental impact is one of the decisive factors that affect people behaviors to be or act differently towards others. According to Bandura's social learning theory, "behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning" (Bandura, 1977). It is Bandura's belief observational learning cannot not be active or take place, if cognitive processes are not functional (Bandura, 1977). For example, in the same way, from observing others, a child can learn to be aggressive and hostile, they can also learn to be prejudice as well. Thus, in a world that increasingly becomes more diverse, it is imperative for governmental agencies, academic institutions, community organizers, and, most importantly, parents to take appropriate measures to decrease the level of prejudice and discrimination as much as possible.

In this paper, how behaviorists see prejudice and discrimination as a social problem through different theoretical frameworks will be discussed, and how their understandings and approach could help to find solutions for these social problems. S. Graham and B. Weiner (2012), in "Motivation: Past, present, and future," highlighted psychologists who contributed to the understanding of the process behind motivation. In "Facilitating Optimal Motivation and Psychological Well-Being Across Life's Domains Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective," by E. Deci and R. Ryan, (2008), the authors introduced the self-determination theory. Also, W. Mischel and Y. Shoda (1995), in "A cognitive-affective system theory of personality: Reconceptualizing situations, dispositions, dynamics, and invariance in personality structure," took an in-depth look into a theory intended to bring together paradoxical findings on the invariance of personality and the variability of behavior across situations. Furthermore, C. Niemiec, R. Ryan, and E. Deci (2009), examined a study into how aspirations can influence behavior over time in "The path taken: Consequences of attaining intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations in post-college life.” And finally, Moore (2013), in "Tutorial: Cognitive Psychology as a Radical Behaviorist views," explained cognitive psychology from a behaviorist perspective. Comment by Maureen Oates: Unfortunately, this is still a social issue. Clearly define the social issue and be sure to tie it directly to behavior. You might need to use resources from outside of the course to support this, but only here in introduction. Comment by Maureen Oates: Do not discuss articles. This paper is not about articles; it is about a social issue and how it will be analyzed through the lens of three behavioral theories. Comment by Maureen Oates: This is too much detail for an outline.

II. Statement of the Problem

It is not known how prejudice and discrimination affect daily life. However, in our society today, prejudice and discrimination are relentlessly frequent, but yet, a preventable problem. People are discriminated against for their race, religious beliefs, sex, sexuality, and even economic statuses. Almost every racial and ethnic group in America, including Hispanics, Asians, Blacks, Natives Americans, and others, at one time or another historically have tackled ruthless discrimination that is prevalent and open.

III. Behavioral Analysis

According to Watson (1913), individual differences were more significant than those of race or ethnicity. It is with that idea that any type of prejudice or discrimination, racial or not, is socially ill and that behaviorists should welcome and put a lot of effort into changing. Being that Watson welcomed the idea of using psychology, specifically behaviorism theoretical framework, for solving social problems, it is not a surprise that he understood and advocated that social issues can be addressed by measuring, training, and changing. Comment by Maureen Oates: You should analyze the problem from more than one behavioral lens. I require three theories to develop a well-rounded analysis of the issue.Watson’s theory is classical conditioning. Describe how prejudice can be explained through the lens of classical conditioning. How does it develop and how is it maintained/supported? Do the same for each theory you have chosen. The only focus on the theorist is in the first couple sentences to briefly explain the theory.Other examples:How does Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning explain development of prejudice and how does it maintain prejudice?How does Bandura’s social learning theory explain development of prejudice and how does it maintain prejudice?

IV. Behavioral Solutions Comment by Maureen Oates: Academic support requird throughout.

One of the main issues with behaviorist solutions is that they almost solely emphasize the behaviors. At its foundation, behaviorism is the approach to learning that concentrated on changing individuals’ observable behaviors. If people are to solve society’s problems, then there has to be an emphasis on the attention of the thoughts as well as the actions. Comment by Maureen Oates: I require at least two behavioral theories to develop well-rounded solutions for the issue.In this example, explain how operant conditioning can be used to solve prejudice. Need to provide solutions from at least one more theory.

V. Limitations of the behavioral Solutions

The approach of focusing attention on behavior instead of the “thoughts” may be desirable. Still, it is not necessarily a helpful and definite solution to help eliminate prejudice and discrimination as a social problem. Comment by Maureen Oates: This section needs to specifically address limitations of the behavioral solutions presented in the previous section. It is okay to briefly offer other academically supported solutions if you choose.

VI. Conclusion

For many, Watson symbolizes a striving force for a better behavioral understanding of our world today. No matter the obstacles one has faced, there must be hope for a better tomorrow, a more just society through the application of behaviorism theoretical framework and evidence-based research findings.

References Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Facilitating Optimal Motivation and Psychological Well-Being Across Life's Domains. Canadian Psychology, 49(1), 14-23. Graham, S., & Weiner, B. (2012). Motivation: Past, present, and future. In K. R. Harris, S. Graham, T. Urdan, C. B. McCormick, G. M. Sinatra, J. Sweller, ... J. Sweller (Eds.) , APA educational psychology handbook, Vol 1: Theories, constructs, and critical issues (pp. 367-397). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/13273-013 Mischel, W., & Shoda, Y. (1995). A cognitive-affective system theory of personality: Reconceptualizing situations, dispositions, dynamics, and invariance in personality structure. Psychological Review, 102(2), 246-268. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.102.2.246 Moore, J. (2013). TUTORIAL: COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AS A RADICAL BEHAVIORIST VIEWS IT. Psychological Record, 63(3), 667-679. doi:10.11133/j.tpr.2013.63.3.019 Niemiec, C. P., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2009). The path taken: Consequences of attaining intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations in post-college life. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(3), 291-306. Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20(2), 158-177.

Joel,

Thank you so much for your efforts on this Annotated Bibliography and Outline. In your paper due in Module 7, I will be looking for a few very specific things:

1. Introduction

a. Attention grabbing hook (first 1-3 sentences)

b. Context of current social problem described with academic support (3-8 sentences). The clear definition of the social issue at hand should be contained within this context.

c. Clear thesis statement identifying the social problem and the theory/theorist that will be utilized to analyze this issue.

2. Body of Paper

a. Provide a Problem Statement and brief background of the problem (one paragraph).

b. Three clear common themes (e.g., Behavioral Analysis of the Problem, Behavioral Solutions, and Limitations to the Behavioral Solutions) that should be discussed/evaluated through the perspective of behavioral theorists/theories. An APA style subheading should be utilized to organize content written for a given theme.

c. At least 3 different academic sources supporting the evaluation of each theme (i.e., 3 sources per theme, some may overlap, but at least 7 used in total). This should require you to locate academic sources (e.g., peer reviewed articles, edited chapters) that discuss your social issue.

d. An actual analysis/application of a theories/theorists to a given social issue. Be organized in your paragraphs (i.e., use topic sentences and transitional sentences, center paragraph around a specific idea/subtheme), define relevant terminology, include concrete examples when useful, make direct connections between the theories/theorists and aspects of the social problem, be detailed, and avoid the first- and second person perspective).

3. Conclusion

a. Include an overarching topic sentence.

b. Summarize the key take-aways from your three themes (i.e., 1-2 sentences per theme), using in-text citations when appropriate.

c. Circle back to your thesis statement by rewording it in a novel way, this will help bring your paper full circle.

d. Include a suggestion for a potential future study that might be warranted given the content within your paper.

Please feel free to use the content above as a guide for future annotated bibliography/outlines and synthesis papers. Let me know if you have any other pressing questions regarding your upcoming paper, as I am happy to assist you.

Thanks,