Lesson Plans

Psychology, 6th Edition ©2000

by Wade, Tavris

Week 11

Chapter 7: Learning and Conditioning

Performance Objectives:

• Discuss learning from a psychological viewpoint.
• Recognize learning as a vehicle to promote adaptation through experience.
• Describe the classical conditioning paradigm.
• Describe the operant conditioning paradigm.
• Explain how observational learning works.
• Describe cognitive learning approaches.

Resources:

• Chapter 7: Learning and Conditioning—pp. 225–261
• Study Guide and Practice Tests—pp. 183–212
• Instructor's Resource Manual—pp. 211–258
• Test Bank—pp. 147–170

Pacing Guide:

• Learning from a Psychological Perspective—day 1
• Classical Conditioning in the Lab and Real Life—days 1 and 2
• Operant Conditioning in the Lab and Real Life—days 3 and 4
• Social Cognitive Theories—day 5
• Block Scheduling
  The definitions of learning and classical conditioning require one block. Operant conditioning and social cognitive theories should each be given one block period.

Key Words:

Critical Thinking Questions:

1. Why would a dog salivate when it sees a light bulb even though it can't eat such a thing?
2. How can classical conditioning help explain prejudice?
3. How can sitting in a doctor's office make you feel sick?
4. How can operant conditioning principles account for superstitious rituals?
5. What is the best way to discourage a friend from interrupting you while you're studying?
6. How might watching violence on TV make (some) people more aggressive?

Troubleshooting Tips:

• Make sure you relate both kinds of conditioning to real life situations. The temptation is to focus merely on laboratory results without discussing the application of this research.
• Students may experience difficulty keeping track of the alphabet soup (US, UR, CS, CR) accompanying classical conditioning. Make sure you have several examples of each concept.

End-of-Chapter Activity: