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The Influence of the Media on Personality Development: The Role of Environment, Reinforcement, and Social-Cognitive Theory

A fascinating field of study in psychology is how the environment, reinforcement, and social-cognitive theory affect behavior. These three elements frequently interact to influence a person’s behavior and personality. It is debatable if media, especially films and television shows, affect how people behave and form their personalities. This essay explains how the environment, reinforcement, and social-cognitive theory work together to change behavior. It then examines potential issues with media content and its impact on personality development.

The environment, a complex entity, is crucial in determining behavior. Utilizing behaviorist concepts, the environment serves as a stimulus, inducing actions that are either rewarded or penalized. As a result, the idea of reinforcement is introduced, which states that actions that are rewarded are more likely to be repeated. An example of how reinforcement and environment interact is when a youngster completes duties around the house. Children are more likely to continue doing their duties if they receive praise or a reward for doing them. The environment’s encouragement strengthens the desired behavior over time.
Furthermore, according to the social-cognitive hypothesis, people learn by paying attention to the decisions others make and the results they encounter. Individuals learn new habits and modify their preexisting ones through modeling. For instance, an adolescent who sees their elder sister getting compliments for helping someone else might model that conduct to receive the same favorable attention.

Television shows and movies can have a big impact when these theories are applied to the effect of media on behavior and personality development. In particular, for those in their formative years, characters and situations depicted in media function as role models for viewers. As suggested by social-cognitive theory, adopting the actions and attitudes displayed on television can result from seeing these models. Positive conduct is not the only thing this impact can affect; media exposure can also cause undesirable behavior to develop. Concerns start to surface here. Viewers, particularly children and adolescents, may internalize these actions as acceptable or desired if the media frequently depicts violent, aggressive, or harmful behaviors without showing the proper repercussions.

Research that can be trusted sheds light on media’s potential influence on behavior. According to studies, exposure to violent media might make people less sensitive to violence and increase aggressive thoughts and actions. For instance, Anderson and Bushman’s (2001) meta-analysis discovered a strong correlation between aggressive behavior and exposure to violent media in both short- and long-term contexts. Similarly, Bandura’s well-known Bobo doll experiment from 1961 demonstrated how youngsters who watched aggressive television characters were more prone to replicate aggressive actions. These results support the idea that media material, particularly when reinforced, can influence the formation of behavioral habits.

In conclusion, the relationship between the environment, reinforcement, and social-cognitive theory sheds light on how the media affects personality development. The social-cognitive approach highlights the power of modeling while the environment provides stimuli that inspire behaviors, reinforcement reinforces desired actions, and reinforcement. While there is a chance that media will favorably affect behavior, there is reason for concern about how undesirable actions are portrayed. Research evidence emphasizes the necessity to critically assess media material, particularly in light of its potential influence on impressionable people. Understanding the complex interactions between psychological theories and the impact of media becomes increasingly important as society continues to interact with it to promote positive behavior and personality development.

References:

Bushman, B. J.; Anderson, C. A. (2001). A meta-analytic evaluation of the scientific literature on the effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial conduct. 353–359 in Psychological Science, 12(5).
A. Bandura, D. Ross, and S. A. Ross (1961). Aggression is spread by imitating aggressive role models. 63(3), 575-582, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology.

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