PSYC 4520 1st Edition Lecture 27Outline of Last Lecture I. Observational LearningA. What is observational learning?B. Learning and performanceC. The Bobo doll experimentOutline of Current Lecture I. Application: Self-Efficacy TherapyA. Self-efficacyB. ExpectationsC. Sources of efficacy expectationsD. Guided masteryII. Assessment: Behavior Observation MethodsA. Behavior as a problemB. Direct observationC. Self-monitoringD. Observation by othersIII. Strengths and Criticisms of the Behavioral/Social Learning ApproachA. StrengthsThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.B. CriticismsCurrent LectureI. Application: Self-Efficacy TherapyA. Self-efficacyi. Lots of people seek help to stop smoking or lose weight, but only some ofthem end up permanently losing their habit; most succeed temporarily. The successful cases are different due to Bandura’s idea of self-efficacy: people stop their bad habit when they convince themselves they can.B. Expectationsi. Bandura says people aren’t likely to alter their behavior until they decide to expend the necessary effort. He distinguishes between outcome expectations and efficacy expectations.ii. An outcome expectation is the extent to which people believe actions willlead to a certain outcome. An efficacy expectation is the extent to which people believe they can perform the actions that will lead to the specific outcome. For example, you may hold the outcome expectation that if youstudy for hours rather than go out, you will get good grades. You may alsohold the efficacy expectation that you are incapable of such devoted workand sacrifice.iii. Bandura says efficacy expectations are better predictors of behavior than outcome expectations. Students are unlikely to work hard for good gradesif they don’t think it is possible.C. Sources of efficacy expectationsi. Bandura identified 4 sources of efficacy expectations: enactive mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological and affective states.ii. Enactive mastery experiences—the most important source of efficacy expectations. These are successful attempts to achieve the outcome in the past. For example, sky divers who are suddenly scared before a jump tell themselves that they have done this before and can do it again. Ahistory of failures can lead to low efficacy expectations: people who fear heights and have never been able to climb a ladder are unlikely to try.iii. Vicarious experiences—not as powerful as actual performances but can still alter efficacy expectations. Seeing others do something without adverse effects can lead us to believe that we can do it too. iv. Verbal persuasion—less effective. Telling someone they can do somethingmay convince them to do it. But, this expectation will be easily crushed if the actual performance doesn’t lead to the expected result.v. Physiological and affective states—these are the states of the person before performing the behavior. A woman who has difficulty approaching men may find her heart beats faster and her palms sweat as she picks up the phone to call a man for a date. If she interprets these physiological responses as anxiety, she may decide she is too nervous to call. However, if she notices how calm she is just before dialing, she may decide she can.D. Guided masteryi. If successful experiences are the most effective method for altering a client’s efficacy expectations, this creates a problem. How can a therapist give a client a mastery experience of overcoming a fear of heights if the client is afraid even to leave the first floor of the building? Then, a therapist may use “guided mastery,” arranging the situation so that the client is almost guaranteed a successful experience.ii. The treatment is broken down into small steps that can be completed with only a little increase in the client’s effort. A client who fears driving may first drive a short distance on a secluded street. This is followed with gradually longer drives on busier streets. With each success, the client strengthens the belief that he or she can drive. This is like desensitization.iii. Failure to instill a sense of self-efficacy in a client may doom therapeutic efforts. People who do not believe that they can do something typically will not succeed at it.II. Assessment: Behavior Observation MethodsA. Behavior as a problemi. Behavior therapists focus on observable behaviors rather than the causes for the behavior. To them, behavior is the problem, so objective/reliable assessment of behavior is critical. They want to know how often a problem occurs/the events surrounding the behavior and have a few ways of getting information about the frequency of target behaviors—direct observation, self-monitoring, and observation by others.B. Direct observationi. The most obvious/best way to find out how often a behavior occurs is to observe the person directly. If you want to know how much time a girl spends with kids her own age, you can watch her during several recesses. ii. But, the therapist cannot be everywhere, such as around a socially phobicperson or a married couple having an argument. Thus, he or she may rely on analogue behavioral observation, creating a situation that resembles the real-world setting in which the problem behavior is likely to occur. Forexample, a therapist may stage a dance for clients suffering from shyness or ask a couple to enter into a discussion that recently sparked a disagreement. Therapists may ask clients to role-play, so clients act out how they would behave in a certain situation.iii. Good behavioral assessment requires good definitions of the behavior. This is simple when talking about the number of times a person smokes a cigarette, but if the target behavior is like “appropriate classroom responses,” the therapist must define exactly what “appropriate” means.iv. One way to improve the accuracy of behavior observation is to have 2 or more observers independently code the same behaviors. For example, 2 judges can watch a child during the same recesses. If they largely agree on how often they count the target behavior, the number is most likely accurate. But if they differ greatly, we are left clueless. One solution is to videotape the behavior so more judges can code it. Also, behavior therapists must be concerned about bias: observers may sometimes see what they