Required Criteria

Student Response

Psychological Question

Please include the psychological question chosen for the assignment.

How does social media affect our mental health? 

Perspective 1

Describe perspective and its associated assumptions. Include at least one supporting resource.

The Behavioral-Learning perspective, influenced by Watson's behaviorism and Miller & Dollard's social learning theories (Watson, 1913; Miller & Dollard, 1941), postulates that behaviors are learned from the environment. From this angle, our interactions with social media and the associated mental health implications can be viewed as products of learned behaviors. The satisfaction derived from gaining likes or shares can create a pattern of operant conditioning (Skinner, 1938), where such positive reinforcements encourage recurrent use. On another note, the observational learning theory posits that individuals often emulate behaviors they notice on social media platforms (Miller & Dollard, 1941). This could instigate mental health issues if the copied behaviors are harmful, such as cyberbullying or comparing oneself to unrealistic standards seen online. Hence, this perspective offers insights into how the mechanics of behavioral learning could be at play in social media usage and its potential effects on mental health. This interpretation indicates that our engagement with these platforms is not just mindless scrolling but can be driven by deeply ingrained learning processes. 

Perspective 2

Describe perspective and its associated assumptions. Include at least one supporting resource.

The Sociocultural/Cross-Cultural perspective stresses the significance of societal and cultural contexts on human behavior and cognitive processes (Cole & Bruner, 1971). Through this lens, social media can reflect cultural norms and societal values, and its impact on mental health can be explored accordingly. For instance, societies that emphasize perfectionism and physical attractiveness may foster a social media culture that encourages harmful comparison, which could subsequently affect mental health (Fardouly et al., 2015). Additionally, this perspective considers the role of cultural variations...