Negative modeling: what is it and how does it work?

Observing others is essential during development since it is the way in which we learn how to guide our own behavior.

This idea is what lies in the modeling concept, explained in greater depth by Albert bandura. People take actions and whoever observes them introduces them into their behavioral repertoire. Observing others is essential during development since it is the way in which we learn how to guide our own behavior.

This idea is what lies in the concept of modeling, explained in greater depth by Albert Bandura. People take actions and whoever observes them introduces them into their behavioral repertoire.

However, not all behaviors are good. Sometimes unwanted actions are imitated, and this is the idea that would relate to the concept of negative modeling, explained in more detail in this article.

Negative modeling what is it?

Within Albert Bandura's social learning proposal, Negative modeling is understood as the fact of imitating behaviors of others that are not considered appropriate to be a socially adjusted individual.

They are usually behaviors that imply some type of harm to others or to himself, but with enough social pressure to imitate it, believing that it may imply some type of benefit.

Theoretical framework on which it is based

The term modeling, in a more general and neutral vision, refers to the observational learning process where the behavior of an individual or group of them serves as a stimulus for thought, attitudes and behavior of other people.

Within psychology, the study of imitation has been practically ignored until 1941 when Miller and Dollard tried to approach it from a behavioral perspective. Later, in 1963, Albert Bandura proposed a theory on behavioral imitation to try to explain the development of personality through social learning. With the passage of time, the term 'imitation' was progressively replaced by that of 'modeling' within the academic sphere.

According to Bandura himself, most of human behavior is the result of having observed it in others and having acquired it through modeling. Thus, a person, seeing how others behave, gets an idea of ​​what repertoires of behavior he must carry out and using them as a guide. The influence of the behavior of others on oneself can depend on several factors, such as the status attributed to the referring subject or the degree of kinship.

Broadly speaking, the imitation process begins with the observation of behavior. Later, whoever observes it feels identified with whoever is doing it and proceeds to imitate it. If the action involves some kind of short-term benefit or reward, they are more likely to assimilate it into their behavioral repertoire.

Examples of negative modeling

As has already been indicated, negative modeling is understood as the imitation of behaviors considered unwanted or inappropriate because they involve some damage both to the person who performs them and to third parties.

The ability to imitate other people is highly adaptive for the human species, since it offers us a great diversity of behaviors that we can know in advance that they will have some type of benefit, since it is logical to think that if others carry it out it is because it has allowed them to gain something doing it.

However, it is not gold everything that shines. Many times, unknowingly, actions and ways of doing are imitated that are not adaptive in the long term. Young people, especially children, are more sensitive to learning bad habits, especially since they do not yet have the ability to discern between right and wrong. To further understand this, let's look at some detailed examples of negative modeling put into practice..

1. Violent entertainment

The media have a great influence on our actions, thinking and skills.

The mass media is constantly bombarded with movies and series in which scenes appear where murders, assaults and thefts are committed.

It is also possible to see in more than one movie that addictions are promoted implicitly, such as alcohol consumption And although it is more regulated nowadays, the scenes in which someone appears smoking are not at all surprising.

All of this can have a great influence on the mind of the child or adolescent who has witnessed scenes in which this violent content appears, being able to believe that imitating their favorite actors makes them ‘Cool’.

In the most extreme cases, having enjoyed this type of content may be behind fights at school, assaults on parents or misbehavior, behaviors clearly not desired.

However, it is important to clarify what has just been said at this point. All entertainment, whether in the form of movies, series or video games, should not be demonized. It is the responsibility of parents to control what their children are exposed to.

2. Domestic violence

Violence in the home is unfortunately a social scourge. Whether it is the husband who assaults his wife or the parents who mistreat his children, this type of violence contributes to the person being modeled in a very negative way.

As an adult, he may carry out these same aggressions towards his partner and his children, or it may also be the case that he imitates her abused mother and becomes submissive and incapable of freeing himself from his chains.

3. Racism and xenophobia

Although there is currently a very critical conception of racism, especially its biological aspect, there is still a lot of work to be done and racially discriminatory comments are not uncommon.

The child who grows up in an environment where misconceptions about people of a particular age abound. specific ethnicity or nationality is very likely to end up doing the same and that, in addition, they are believe.

The racist comments that the child is going to make are not only unwanted behaviors, but also, behind, he will inherit all the discriminatory thinking that her parents have taught him.

4. Plagiarism culture

This example in question may seem a bit far-fetched, but it is certainly a very widespread type of behavior. in our society that of plagiarizing the work of others, clearly unwanted and harmful behavior of being discovered.

If the child who goes to class learns to copy and paste what is written in her textbook because her teacher has written it that way. In other words, although it may seem harmless, it contributes to assimilating the culture of plagiarism and not generating new ideas.

Surprisingly, today, it surprises us, worth the redundancy, that a politician or a social reference copied a work while studying a degree or master's degree. In turn, these same famous people do not receive the appropriate legal consequences.

All this, promoted by the educational field itself and, more generally, the media and the legal system, They encourage people to believe that copying what others have worked so hard to create is legitimate..

Bibliographic references:

• Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Bandura, A. Ross, D., & Ross, S. TO. (1961). Transmission of aggression through the imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582.