Psychology 409A- October 10, 2005
My Third Outline of Assigned
By Gemma Clayson
“Modeling and Making Choices”
James, Dr.
Instructions for this activity are found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy23/409a-g23-oral.htm
Instructor: Dr. Leon James
Concept One: Imitating Aggression
A. Children are constantly observing their parents and learning their behaviors behind the wheel. So when these children get behind the wheel, it is extremely common for them to imitate those learned behaviors.
B. These learned aggressive behaviors could include simple routine examples such as talking on your cell phone, running red lights, or not wearing your seat belt. Albert Bandura demonstrated that children imitated behavior exhibited by an adult model in the presence of the model. Children are definitely watching and learning your reactions and responses to driving situations.
C. As a psychology major I have encountered Bandura’s theory many times and am confident that children are modeling your behaviors all the time. Before you know it, they are behind the wheel and responding to similar situations the same way that they have been taught. Be a good role model.
Concept Two: Positive Reinforcement
A. Adding a pleasant stimulus in order to increase behavior and negative reinforcement would be taking away something to decrease an unpleasant behavior.
B. Positive reinforcement is something your child needs from the get-go for him/her to recognize that certain driving behaviors are necessary components. This type of reinforcement should be verbal praise or any type of positive influence that lets your child know that you are proud of their good behavior. For example: If your child wears their seatbelt the while car ride, you could say something like “I am really proud that you wore your belt the whole ride. I value when you keep your seatbelt on”.
C. The concept of positive reinforcement is an excellent one. It is an easy way to put your child’s preference under your control and make them feel wonderful and involved while you do it. It also promotes safety and self-awareness.
Concept Three: Children vs. Road Rage
A. An organization entitled CARR (Children Against Road Rage) was proposed in 1977 to try to involve children in training for emotional intelligence as future drivers.
B. This concept was important for early recognition of road rage in children. When children are first learning to drive or are going through a driver education program, they are more aware of their driving habits and would respond more to self-witnessing programs. Children only riding in the back seat are less likely to become involved in this program and resulted in a failed organization.
C. I liked the idea of a CARR organization, but there didn’t seem to be enough awareness about the organization. I wasn’t even aware of the up and coming organization when I was growing up and this was around my driving years. I think it was a bit much to ask of children to involve themselves in the awareness of the three fold self.
Links:
1. www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2005/clayson/home.htm (My Home Page)
2. www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy23/classhome-g23.htm (Class Home Page)
3. http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Bandura/bobo.htm (Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment)
4. http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as98/naranjo/groups.html#CARR (Proposed CARR Organization Information)
5. http://roadragers.com/test/age.htm (List of age groups and percentages of self-reported aggressive behaviors)