Jared McClure

General Psychology
4.15.15

Signature Assignment
In this assignment I chose to teach a student a blues guitar scale. I started by
having the student sit across from me, each having a guitar in hand and the notes for the
scale laid out so that it was easily readable for both of us. I first demonstrated how to play
the scale correctly by example. When I was finished I allowed the student then to attempt
the scale on his own and allowed him time to become familiar with the scale. When the
student played all or a portion of the scale correctly, regardless of the time it took him to
finish, I applied positive reinforcement by verbally congratulating his effort. As the
student repeated the scale he became more familiar with the feeling of moving his fingers
up and down the fret board of the guitar. I made sure to acknowledge that he was in fact
learning something new and achieving his and my desired goal. I refrained from
punishment by not harshly interrupting the student when he played the scale incorrectly,
fearing this would cause timidity in attempting the scale again. He eventually played the
scale properly and with ease ensuring that he had learned the task. Encouragement was
added by inputting a reinforcement schedule with the student, insisting that he repeat the
scale when he played guitar in the future, preferably two or three times a week to make
the process natural.
Observational learning is a key part of who we are. Many of our behaviors now might be
linked back to a time when we observed somebody model a certain behavior and then w
replicated that same behavior. When I was instructing my student how to play a blues

scale it would have been detrimental to his capability to play it properly if I would have
shown him incorrectly. He may have gone home and practiced that scale over and over
believing what he was doing was correct but have been misguided all along. In the text
Psychology (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner p.294) an experiment is conducted using a Bobo
doll, an adult model, and a group of children. In the experiment the adult kicked and
punched the doll as the children looked on. When it was the childrens turn to play with
the same doll they employed many of the same behaviors the adult model displayed when
they played with it. This example lends credibility to observational learning.
Observational learning, can on the other hand, have great influences for good on the
people around us. One example I can use is the influence of good coworkers and
managers. I have had a few jobs in the past that I have been surrounded by coworkers and
managers that are positive and hardworking. When I have a shift with a positive and
hardworking coworker or manager, I can observe them doing their job well. They make
take the extra time to ensure all of their area is properly vacuumed or that side tasks are
taken care of on time. When I see them work hard on their tasks it stirs up in me the
desire to do my job with greater integrity. This is one example of how we can be
positively impacted by observational learning.
A key point about observational learning is a term referred to as the diffusion chain. The
diffusion chain is in essence a behavior (typically bad) that is learned by a person and
then is taught to another person by means of observational learning. This has its greatest
impacts on the household. When a family is raising children it is important that one is
aware of the impact not only of observational learning but also of the diffusion chain

because when a children learns a poor behavior they can then teach that behavior to their
peers and also their future children.