Post by omorson on Nov 22, 2017 16:14:23 GMT
The situation I'm choosing to analysis via a behaviourist and trait psychologist approach is one in which an individual is anxious about being in a tutorial and fears the TA thinks they are unintelligent.
A behaviourist might look at the problem from a conditioning point of view, perhaps some form of negative feedback or "punishment" happened in a similar situation, perhaps a teacher in a small class did allude the student was less capable; therefore the anxiety is a learned reaction to the situation. To counteract the cause then the student needs positive reinforcement. The solution could be to reward the student in that situation, thereby changing the conditioning and the learned behaviour; the student needs positive feedback from the TA for example.
A trait psychologist however, might look at the situation and say that the anxiety demonstrated by the student is a result of their personality traits. This student might be a more introverted, neurotic person and as a result this situation triggers anxiety. The fix is therefore a little tricker, because although there is some fluidity in personality across situations, trait theorists would not believe changing the personality of the student is a plausible solution. Instead, the situation might have to be adapted to the student. One such way might be to speak to the TA one on one, to lessen the social anxiety and ensure that they know you are an engaged capable student. If the TA is the real source of anxiety, perhaps trying to engage in discussion and other forms of participation, but focus on the students rather than the TA. Regardless of the fix, I believe a trait approach would require trying to find ways to alter the situation to be more manageable to the individual, rather than change the relatively stable nature of the personality in question.
A behaviourist might look at the problem from a conditioning point of view, perhaps some form of negative feedback or "punishment" happened in a similar situation, perhaps a teacher in a small class did allude the student was less capable; therefore the anxiety is a learned reaction to the situation. To counteract the cause then the student needs positive reinforcement. The solution could be to reward the student in that situation, thereby changing the conditioning and the learned behaviour; the student needs positive feedback from the TA for example.
A trait psychologist however, might look at the situation and say that the anxiety demonstrated by the student is a result of their personality traits. This student might be a more introverted, neurotic person and as a result this situation triggers anxiety. The fix is therefore a little tricker, because although there is some fluidity in personality across situations, trait theorists would not believe changing the personality of the student is a plausible solution. Instead, the situation might have to be adapted to the student. One such way might be to speak to the TA one on one, to lessen the social anxiety and ensure that they know you are an engaged capable student. If the TA is the real source of anxiety, perhaps trying to engage in discussion and other forms of participation, but focus on the students rather than the TA. Regardless of the fix, I believe a trait approach would require trying to find ways to alter the situation to be more manageable to the individual, rather than change the relatively stable nature of the personality in question.