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participant modeling

a procedure for changing behavior in which effective styles of behavior (e.g., of coping) are demonstrated step-by-step and analyzed by a therapist for an individual, who then practices the modeled behavior. Various aids are introduced to help the individual master the behavior, such as videotaped enactments of effective and ineffective behavioral responses to prototypical situations in a variety of social contexts (e.g., at school or work). By contrast, symbolic modeling is a procedure in which the individual only observes, but does not also practice, a modeled behavior as enacted in film, videotape, or other media. [developed by Albert Bandura]

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Psychology term of the day

February 16th 2025

cause

cause

n.

1. an event or state that brings about another (its effect).

2. in Aristotelian and rationalist philosophy, an entity or event that is a requirement for another entity or event’s coming to be. Aristotle proposed that there were four types of cause—material, formal, efficient, and final. In the case of a sculpture, for example, the material cause is the stone or metal from which it is made, the formal cause is the form or structure that it takes, the efficient cause is the sculptor, and the final cause is the sculptor’s aim or purpose in making it. —causal adj.