Lesson 1Short Answer1. Define the experimental method. Describe one major way the experimental method differs from the correlational method.The experimental method is a manipulation of an independent variable to look for an effect on a dependent variable. That is, the experimental method includes experiments to find the relationship between one dependent variable and one independent variable. Thus, the casual relationship between the dependent and independent variable can be clearly found due to the absence of the third variable. But the disadvantage is that the distorted behaviors - since there is just one dependent and independent variable, everything outside the variables are artificia ...view middle of the document...
Psychodynamic models mean that the behaviors are driven or motivated by powerful inner forces. In this view, human actions stem from inherited instincts, biological drives, and attempts to resolve conflicts between personal needs and society's demands. And the main purpose of it is to reduce tension.Humanistic models state that human are active creatures who are innately good and capable to choose. In this view, the main task for humans is to strive for growth and development of their potentials.5. Give a hypothetical example of classical conditioning. Be sure to label the unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response.I have several pet parrots. I hide the food bowl so that they will not keep eating all the time; I only show the food bowl when it is time for meal. Before I feed them, I always tap the food bowl for 5 times and show the food bowl with food. At first, when I tap the food bowl, they didn't react to the tapping sound. After a long time, when I tap the food bowl, my parrots fly towards the food bowl to eat, no matter what they are initially doing or there is any food inside the food bowl.Before the conditioning, food is the unconditioned stimulus while the flying towards the food bowl to eat is the unconditioned response (since I can't measure their salivation). During the conditioning, the tapping sound is the conditioned stimulus while the food is the unconditioned stimulus; the action of flying towards the food bowl is the conditioned response. After conditioning, whenever I tap the food bowl, this conditioned stimulus evokes the conditioned response, making my parrots flying towards the food bowl no matter whether there is food inside.6. Assume that you are baby-sitting your eight-year-old nephew. Give one example of positive reinforcement and one example of negative reinforcement that you might use.Assume that my nephew needs to take an afternoon nap, and he loves candy and cartoon shows in the TV. If he can wake up compliantly from his afternoon nap on time, I give him a candy. And then he will be able to wake up compliantly on time. Since his action creates an event that I bring him some desire, and then the desire motivates my nephew to increase the probability of that behavior, this is a positive reinforcement. If he cannot wake up compliantly from his nap on time, I don't allow him to watch the cartoon shows. Then he will wake up compliantly on time. Because he doesn't want to miss the cartoons which are a potential desire, this motivates my nephew to wake up compliantly and on time, that is increasing the probability of that behavior. Hence, this is a negative reinforcement.10. Define observational learning. Describe the conditions that make a model's behavior most influential.Observational learning is the individual, after simply watching another person's actions or behaviors that was reinforced or punished, later behaves in much the same way. Although there are many possi...
