Week 1
November 10, 2009
Social Psychology is “the scientific study of the effects of social and cognitive processes on the way individuals perceive, influence, and relate to others (Myers, 2008, p.3).” Bandura’s social learning theory suggests that parents have an influence on his or her child’s behavior. In most cases, children seem to mirror his or her parents’ behavior in which does always require reinforcement. As such the author negative learning occurred because of watching some one else perform some action and experienced reinforcement or punishment called observational learning, or modeling involved in a wide range of behaviors. Social Psychology differs from other related disciplines in that it focuses on “social” aspects of human behaviors, specifically, how people understand and interact with others. In addition, people usually learn through observation of others performing and reinforcement. The greater that person models behavior that resembles us the easier we adapt the behavior. In addition, a lawyer’s daughter would want to become and nurse instead of a house cleaner or a farmer. Therefore, an African-American girl would also model the behavior of this girl meanwhile; an Anglo-American boy would not model the said behavior. Some children have behavioral attitudes that are from cultural differences, and children with anxiety are an exception to theoretical rules. Developmental theories can be beneficial to understand the behavior of a child through adolescence. There are some theories that are different from each other. However, developmental theories can also have several types of similarities. The use of developmental theories can help in identifying cognitive, and physical and emotional development, of children throughout adolescent development (Rotter, 1981. pp.37-40). Clinical Psychology is limited to the individual; General Psychology is just that, universally covering wide and