Alabama Social Studies SS24.P.11c
The Standard
- SS24.P.11
- Describe ways in which organisms learn, including the processes of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning.*
Describe original experiments conducted by Albert Bandura, B. F. Skinner, Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, Kenneth and Mamie Clark, and Rosalie Rayner.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies · Cognitive Psychology
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain what happened in five studies: Pavlov’s dogs, Skinner’s chamber, Bandura’s Bobo doll, Watson and Rayner’s Little Albert, and Kenneth and Mamie Clark’s doll tests. They identify what the researchers observed and what each study suggested.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can explain how Pavlov’s sound predicted food, Skinner’s food pellets rewarded an action, and Bandura’s adult model led children to imitate behavior. They can describe how Watson and Rayner studied learned fear, and how the Clarks used doll choices to study children’s racial attitudes.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may call Pavlov’s study a reward experiment, even though the dogs did not choose an action to earn food. They may mix up the Clarks’ doll tests with Bandura’s Bobo doll study, or credit Little Albert to Watson alone.
How to Assess It
- Use this exit ticket: “For each setup, name the researchers and one finding: dogs, sound, and food; lever and food pellet; adult and doll; infant, rat, and loud noise; children and Black and white dolls.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Run a ten-round card game where one choice earns a point; have students chart whether rewards change their choices.
Ask pairs: “What can the Clark doll tests tell us, and what can’t they tell us?” Have them cite the children’s choices.
Give teams five study cards and five finding cards; have them match each pair and explain one clue.
Show a mock app that awards a badge for daily logins; ask how Skinner’s findings might explain repeated logins.
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Related Standards
- SS24.P.1b
Differentiate among various schools of thought and perspectives that have developed in psychology since 1879.*
- SS24.P.2
Describe methodologies, research tools, and strategies used by researchers in psychological studies.*
- SS24.P.1c
Describe how modern psychologists utilize multiple perspectives to understand behavior and mental processes, citing examples.*
- SS24.P.11
Describe ways in which organisms learn, including the processes of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning.*
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