Week 9 (October 22 - 28)

Module D - Why do people do the things they do?

Welcome to my very favorite learning module!  This module was created because this is one of the most commonly asked questions by introductory psychology students.  In this learning module you will explore some of the factors that influence the attitudes that we hold as well as the behaviors that we engage in.  You'll learn about the influence of internal and external factors and how they work together and result in the behaviors and actions that we engage in.  How could somebody inflict pain on another person?  Why do kids bully each other?  Why do I get to work on-time?  These are some of the questions that you will be better equipped to answer at the end of this module.

Did you do chores when you were younger?  Have you ever worked hard to get a job or a promotion?  Has anybody ever persuaded you to do something that on your own you would never do?  If you answered yes to any of these questions you might be wondering what compelled you to do these things...was it choice or was it something else driving your behavior?  This lesson will introduce students to many theories which attempt to explain why we do the things we do and believe it or not many of these theories say we do these things not because we want to but because quite simply we've learned to!

Ivan Pavlov is a famous psychologist who's work actually started in another field.  He was studying dogs and their digestive processes when he noticed that the dogs would begin to salivate in the absence of food.  Since this was a physiological process Pavlov wasn't expecting to see the dogs salivate in the absence of food so this fascinated him enough to study this learned behavior more extensively and Pavlov went on to identify what he called classical conditioning theory.  Objectives #1 - 4 will take you through his theory, however Objective #5 will expose you to some other not so well known theorists and their research on learned behavior which followed.

Moving forward Objective #6 asks you to contrast Pavlov's classical conditioning theory with B.F. Skinner's operant conditioning theory.   Whereas Pavlov's theory is a stimulus-response theory, B.F. Skinner actually says that behavior is a product of anticipation of its consequences, what he calls a response-stimulus theory.  Objectives #7 and 8 will dissect Skinner's theory and how learning occurs when our behavior is shaped by its anticipated consequences.  Objective #9 looks at an application of operant conditioning in real life and how it has created opportunities for people with disabilities to live independently with the assistant of capuchin monkeys in the Helping Hands program.

Objective #10  looks at Tolman who suggests that learning can occur in the absence of seeing changes in behavior (which will be an interesting theory to those who have enrolled in the Anatomy of Prejudice Project).  Objective #11 suggests that we also learn by observing the consequences of behavior as experienced by others; in other words we don't have to punished or reinforced for our own behavior because we modify our behavior by observing how others are punished or reinforced.  Albert Bandura proposes what he calls observational learning.  Lastly Martin Seligman shows us another example of how our behavior can be modified when we feel like we no longer have control of it, what he calls learned helplessness which is the focus of Objective #12.

Why do we do the things we do?  In many cases our behavior can be explained simply in terms of how we have acquired the behavior which is a combination of many factors.  All of these theories in this lesson can be used to somehow explain many of our behaviors, but of course not all of them, however this is a good start.

Weekly Activities

Getting Started

• Print Module D Objectives
• Read Chapter 5 - Learning

 Projects

• Individual Project - Controlling Behavior is taking place this week.  Students should read the instructions ASAP and get working on their proposals, which must be posted no later than 11:59pm Friday.  Students are also expected to evaluate each other's proposals in their group discussion area no later than 11:59pm Sunday.

Quizzes, Exams, & Essays

• The D1 Quiz will be available 12am Friday - 11:59pm Sunday and covers Chapter 5.