1. Find English equivalents for the following words and expressions.

Подход к изучению чего-либо; лежать в основе; единственный предмет психологии; выдвинуть точку зрения; относиться к чему-либо; наугад.

2. Give Russian equivalents for the following words and expressions.

Therefore; to be concerned with smth.; self-actualization; affection; to be inseparably linked with smth.; to carry out a study.

3. Make an appropriate choice.

1. The view that behaviour should be the sole subject-matter of psychology was first advanced by

1. I. Pavlov

2. S. Freud

3. J. Watson

2. For Freudists

1. what we feel is more important and real

2. what is hidden is more important and real

3. what we do is more important and real

3. The word “advanced” in line 7 could best be replaced by

1. pushed forward

2. put forward

3. moved forward

4. The author mentions the following characteristics that describe our human nature EXCEPT

1. affection

2. courage

3. honesty

5. What does the author mean by “present-day”?

1. contemporary

2. fashionable

3. latest

Text 3 observing and imitating parents

Think for a moment about the thousands of hours most children spend observing their parents’ behavior. Often on a daily basis, children watch and listen to their parents’ comment about their work and careers, observe whether they drink too much or not at all, experience their model of marital relationships and whether their mother and father argue a lot or very little, see and hear if they solve problems calmly or with great discharge of anger, view whether they are generous toward others or are more selfish, and see how male and female adults act.

Why are children motivated to imitate their parents’ behaviors? Children can gain and maintain their parents’ affection and avoid punishment by behaving like their parents. Children also acquire a sense of mastery over their environment by imitating the behavior of warm, competent, and powerful parents.

One issue in observational learning is whether parents can get by with telling their children, “Do what I say, not what I do,” and not harm their children’s development. Such parents often hope that by rewarding their children’s positive behavior and/or punishing their negative behaviors, they still can engage in their own maladaptive, selfish, and inappropriate ways without jeopardizing their children’s

development. Imitation often occurs without parents knowingly trying to influence their children, but when parents verbalize standards and try to get children to abide by them, they are usually consciously shaping their children’s behavior.

Child developmentalists believe a “do as I say, but not as I do” approach by parents is not a wise parenting strategy. Children who see their parents attend church regularly and hear them talk about how moral they are, but then observe them cheat on their income tax, never give money to charity, turn down requests to help others in need, and treat others with little respect, will often imitate their parents’ actions rather than their -words. In the case of children’s imitation of parents, then, a familiar saying often holds true: Actions speak louder than words.

How much children learn by observing parents also is influenced by what children see are the consequences of that behavior for the parent. If parental models are rewarded for their behavior, children are more likely to imitate their behavior than if the parents receive no reward or are punished for their behavior. The consequences to the model can be either external (someone else says or does something positive to the parents after the parent engages in a particular action) or internal (the parent engages in self-reinforcement by showing pleasure after performing a behavior). For example, a father may give to a charity and subsequently smile and say how good it made him feel. The father’s children observe these consequences and then may imitate the father’s kind, generous behavior as long as it makes the children feel good. Parents may find it ineffective to exhort their children to share their toys because children will not feel good letting others share what they want themselves. However, if children see their parents derive pleasure from sharing, the self-sacrificing behavior probably will bring more joy to the children. Thus, imitation is an important part of the process in getting children to behave in kind ways toward others.