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When commuting to college Sam notices that whichever form of public transport he uses, strangers rarely communicate with each other - AQA - A-Level Psychology - Question 5 - 2018 - Paper 3
Question 5
When commuting to college Sam notices that whichever form of public transport he uses, strangers rarely communicate with each other. He notices that people tend to s... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:When commuting to college Sam notices that whichever form of public transport he uses, strangers rarely communicate with each other - AQA - A-Level Psychology - Question 5 - 2018 - Paper 3
Step 1
AO1: Outline the principles of social learning theory.
Answer
Social learning theory revolves around the concepts of observation and imitation. It posits that individuals learn behaviour by watching others. When they observe others who are similar to them, they are more likely to imitate that behaviour. The theory posits that behaviours are reinforced through positive experiences, which makes them more likely to be repeated in the future.
Additionally, classical conditioning can also play a role, where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
Step 2
AO2: Analyze Sam's observation of communication on public transport.
Answer
Sam's observation highlights a significant aspect of social behaviour. Initially, people on public transport may avoid eye contact and interaction due to learned behaviours. It is possible that individuals have observed others not communicating and thus model this behaviour themselves.
The incident on the bus may have acted as a powerful stimulus that encouraged social interaction. Sam's friend’s argument suggests that communication is not innate; rather, individuals learn to communicate through their experiences and observations of others. This could explain why the atmosphere changed suddenly after the incident.
Step 3
AO3: Evaluate how communication is learned and the context of the incident.
Answer
According to Bandura (1961, 1963), behaviours can be learned through the observation of role models. In Sam's case, he may have seen individuals continuously avoiding eye contact, which taught him this behaviour. Skinner's (1948) studies on reinforcement also suggest that behaviour can be shaped by positive outcomes; similarly, engaging with others may have been positively reinforced after the incident.
However, the lack of generalizability is a limitation in this context, as not all environments encourage communication. Furthermore, researchers like Caspi et al. (2002) argue that behavior can also be influenced by external factors such as social anxiety or prior experiences, indicating that communication patterns are complex and context-dependent.