Professional Applications of Learning Theory in Real-Life Situations
Option 1: Environmental and Evolutionary Psychology Presentation
Watch the "Robert Heath: Experimental Psychosurgery on African-American" and "Application of Heath's Research" videos available on the student website.
Prepare a 10- 12 slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation with speaker notes demonstrating how Gero Miesenboeck has expanded on Heath's research to apply classical conditioning techniques as an alternative to invasive surgery.
Address the following in your presentation:
• Compare and contrast Heath's goals and Miesenboeck's goals.
• Discuss how the experiments with flies demonstrate classical conditioning.
• Discuss how these changes would be viewed from each of the four learning theories.
Option 2: Environmental and Evolutionary Psychology Handout
Watch the "Robert Heath: Experimental Psychosurgery on African-American" and "Application of Heath's Research" videos available on the student website.
Prepare a 3- to 5-page handout for your classmates, demonstrating how Gero Miesenboeck has expanded on Heath's research to apply classical conditioning techniques as an alternative to invasive surgery.
Address the following in your handout:
• Compare and contrast Heath's goals and Miesenboeck's goals.
• Discuss how the experiments with flies demonstrate classical conditioning.
Option 3: Forensic Psychology Presentation
Watch the first 15 minutes of the "Juvenile Rehabilitation" video available on the student website.
Prepare a 10-minute Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation with speaker notes explaining how each of the four learning theories (behaviorism, social cognitive, information processing and constructivism) are demonstrated in this video discussion of juvenile rehabilitation.
Address the following in your presentation:
• How the Paint Creek program, which stresses modeling, demonstrates learning in terms of each learning theory perspective
• How Vicki Agee's explanation of how developing victim empathy creates the motivation for change This sequence should be discussed as demonstration of each of the four learning theories.
• What the behavioral cognitive approach means at Paint Creek
Option 4: Forensic Psychology Outline
Watch the first 15 minutes of the "Juvenile Rehabilitation" video available on the student website.
Prepare an outline of the video, identifying how each of the four learning theories (behaviorism, social cognitive, information processing and constructivism) are demonstrated in this video discussion of juvenile rehabilitation. Match participant comments with each learning theory.
Address the following in your outline:
• How the Paint Creek program, which stresses modeling, demonstrates learning in terms of each learning theory perspective
• How Vicki Agee's explanation of the process of developing victim empathy creates the motivation for change. This sequence should be discussed as demonstration of each of the four learning theories
• What the behavioral cognitive approach means at Paint Creek
Option 5: Health and Sports Psychology Presentation
Watch the first 15 minutes of the "Health and Happiness: Starting the Search" video available on the student website.
At the 9-minute point in the video, Gail Harris states, "A good health care provider is also a good teacher who helps you learn about behavior, lifestyle and diet...."
Prepare a 10-minute Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation with speaker notes for non-psychologist healthcare providers, describing how they can use the four learning theories (behaviorism, social cognitive, information processing and constructivism) to improve their effectiveness as teachers of healthy lifestyles.
Address the following in your presentation:
• How health care providers who live a healthy lifestyle themselves can use elements of each learning theory to model or demonstrate that lifestyle for their patients or clients
• How Thich Nhat Hanh's explanations demonstrate elements of each of the four learning theories
Option 6: Health and Sports Psychology Handout
Watch the first 15 minutes of the "Health and Happiness: Starting the Search" video available on the student website.
At the 9-minute point in the video, Gail Harris states, "A good health care provider is also a good teacher who helps you learn about behavior, lifestyle and diet...."
Prepare a 3- to 5-page handout for non-psychologist healthcare providers, describing how they can use the four learning theories (behaviorism, social cognitive, information processing and constructivism) to improve their effectiveness as teachers of healthy lifestyles.
Address the following in your handout:
• How health care providers who live a healthy lifestyle themselves can use elements of each learning theory to model or demonstrate that lifestyle for their patients or clients.
• How Thich Nhat Hanh's explanations demonstrate elements of each of the four learning theories.
Option 7: Industrial/Organizational Psychology Presentation
Watch the "What Prevents Change in Business?" video available on the student website.
In the video, the narrator states, "But a communication program, which should be clear and consistent, should also be addressing those aspects of the staff relationship that you need to have to make organizational change work for you and for your stakeholders."
Prepare a 10-minute Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation with speaker notes to improve their effectiveness as communicators of the organizational change process.
Address the following in your presentation:
• Discuss how to use learning theories (behaviorism, social cognitive, information processing and Constructivism) as change agents.
• Address aspects of employee resistance.
• Discuss characteristics of external resistance.
Option 8 Industrial/Organizational Psychology Journal Article
Watch the "What Prevents Change in Business?" video available on the student website.
In the video, the narrator states, "But a communication program, which should be clear and consistent, should also be addressing those aspects of the staff relationship that you need to have to make organizational change work for you and for your stakeholders."
Prepare a 3- to 5-page journal article on how to use learning theories (behaviorism, social cognitive, information processing and constructivism) to improve their effectiveness as communicators of organizational change process. Consider your target audience to be change agents.
Address the following in your journal article:
• Discuss how to use learning theories (behaviorism, social cognitive, information processing and Constructivism) as change agents.
• Address aspects of employee resistance.
• Discuss characteristics of external resistance.