Psychological theory applied in filmmaking and community awareness campaigns
Thabo, Thabiso and Moalosi are three energetic and engaging young men, who travel to communities throughout the countryside of Lesotho, a mountainous enclave of South Africa. They carry with them a mobile cinema unit. In these remote communities where a third of the population is HIV+, they screen an HIV awareness film featuring themselves as the main characters. They discuss openly with their audiences their own struggles with HIV and public acceptance.
Young women they meet along the way find the men irresistible. They are, after all, movie stars!
The three friends are featured in the documentary, “Ask Me I’m Positive.” The premise of the film is that a person who is infected by the AIDS virus need not live a life of secrecy. There is no shame in being HIV+.
Last year people from around the world gathered in Bangkok to view “Ask Me I’m Positive,” along with over 50 other films offered during the 2004 AIDS Film Festival, organized by the XV International AIDS Conference. Many of these films featured real or fictional characters depicted as dealing courageously and effectively with problems brought about by HIV and AIDS.
The power of such films to educate and change people’s attitudes and behavior is based upon a psychological theory advanced during the 1960s by a remarkable psychologist named Albert Bandura. His revolutionary idea, known as “social cognitive theory,” has found applications, not only in the more traditional clinical settings, but also in campaigns to increase literacy, reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS, reduce unwanted pregnancies, promote environmental responsibility, and empower women in male-dominated societies.
At first glance, Bandura’s insight may seem obvious: People can learn through observing the experiences of others. However, this notion was in stark contrast to the ideas that were in vogue in psychology when it first appeared, those promoted by strict behaviorism.
The behaviorists, led by the prolific experimentalist B.F. Skinner, taught that all learning is based upon the individual’s direct experience of the consequences of his or her own behavior. According to this view, when one’s behavior is followed by consequences he considers favorable, he tends to repeat it. Conversely, when rewards are not forthcoming, or if desired conditions are removed as a consequence of an act, that act tends to occur progressively less frequently.
The behaviorists could not bring themselves to acknowledge the importance of learning by observing the experiences of others. That’s because learning by observation suggests that mental processes were somehow involved in the learning process. The behaviorists were committed to the doctrine that only observable events like behavior could form the basis of a scientific psychology. The admission of unobservable mental or “cognitive” elements into psychology seemed to many a step backwards from the establishment of a truly objective behavioral science.
Bandura’s earliest experiments on observational learning demonstrated how children, allowed to view videotapes of others behaving aggressively and without restraint, subsequently showed more aggressive behavior. By contrast, children exposed to videotapes lacking in displays of aggression, exhibited no such increase in aggression.
It stands to reason that if children can be influenced to behave badly by observing others, so could they be influenced favorably by observing attractive role models behaving in such a way. And not just children, but adults, too, would seem subject to the principles of observational learning. The research has supported this conclusion, and forms the basis for a new genre of filmmaking exemplified by “Ask Me I’m Positive.”
The characters presented in these films are ordinary people, folks with whom the audience can easily identify. Story lines are typically compelling. The challenges faced are those encountered by ordinary people. Positive role models exhibit behavior that has favorable consequences. Negative role models suffer unpleasant consequences for their mistakes. Lessons are learned, not through wordy speeches and sermons, but through credible actions and consequences - the experiences of the characters.
Studies have shown that attitudes in communities where films like “Ask Me I’m Positive” are shown do change in the desired direction. Misinformation concerning HIV/AIDS in parts of Tanzania, for example, began to evaporate following the airing of a 1993 radio drama called, “Twende na Wakati,” or “Let's Go with the Times,” aimed at increasing AIDS awareness. Researchers believe the popular radio drama was instrumental in producing the changes.
It is gratifying to see research in psychology put to such practical use. Successes like these can point the way to new and innovative applications of psychological ideas like Bandura’s social cognitive theory, aimed at improving public awareness around important issues of public concern.
Young women they meet along the way find the men irresistible. They are, after all, movie stars!
The three friends are featured in the documentary, “Ask Me I’m Positive.” The premise of the film is that a person who is infected by the AIDS virus need not live a life of secrecy. There is no shame in being HIV+.
Last year people from around the world gathered in Bangkok to view “Ask Me I’m Positive,” along with over 50 other films offered during the 2004 AIDS Film Festival, organized by the XV International AIDS Conference. Many of these films featured real or fictional characters depicted as dealing courageously and effectively with problems brought about by HIV and AIDS.
The power of such films to educate and change people’s attitudes and behavior is based upon a psychological theory advanced during the 1960s by a remarkable psychologist named Albert Bandura. His revolutionary idea, known as “social cognitive theory,” has found applications, not only in the more traditional clinical settings, but also in campaigns to increase literacy, reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS, reduce unwanted pregnancies, promote environmental responsibility, and empower women in male-dominated societies.
At first glance, Bandura’s insight may seem obvious: People can learn through observing the experiences of others. However, this notion was in stark contrast to the ideas that were in vogue in psychology when it first appeared, those promoted by strict behaviorism.
The behaviorists, led by the prolific experimentalist B.F. Skinner, taught that all learning is based upon the individual’s direct experience of the consequences of his or her own behavior. According to this view, when one’s behavior is followed by consequences he considers favorable, he tends to repeat it. Conversely, when rewards are not forthcoming, or if desired conditions are removed as a consequence of an act, that act tends to occur progressively less frequently.
The behaviorists could not bring themselves to acknowledge the importance of learning by observing the experiences of others. That’s because learning by observation suggests that mental processes were somehow involved in the learning process. The behaviorists were committed to the doctrine that only observable events like behavior could form the basis of a scientific psychology. The admission of unobservable mental or “cognitive” elements into psychology seemed to many a step backwards from the establishment of a truly objective behavioral science.
Bandura’s earliest experiments on observational learning demonstrated how children, allowed to view videotapes of others behaving aggressively and without restraint, subsequently showed more aggressive behavior. By contrast, children exposed to videotapes lacking in displays of aggression, exhibited no such increase in aggression.
It stands to reason that if children can be influenced to behave badly by observing others, so could they be influenced favorably by observing attractive role models behaving in such a way. And not just children, but adults, too, would seem subject to the principles of observational learning. The research has supported this conclusion, and forms the basis for a new genre of filmmaking exemplified by “Ask Me I’m Positive.”
The characters presented in these films are ordinary people, folks with whom the audience can easily identify. Story lines are typically compelling. The challenges faced are those encountered by ordinary people. Positive role models exhibit behavior that has favorable consequences. Negative role models suffer unpleasant consequences for their mistakes. Lessons are learned, not through wordy speeches and sermons, but through credible actions and consequences - the experiences of the characters.
Studies have shown that attitudes in communities where films like “Ask Me I’m Positive” are shown do change in the desired direction. Misinformation concerning HIV/AIDS in parts of Tanzania, for example, began to evaporate following the airing of a 1993 radio drama called, “Twende na Wakati,” or “Let's Go with the Times,” aimed at increasing AIDS awareness. Researchers believe the popular radio drama was instrumental in producing the changes.
It is gratifying to see research in psychology put to such practical use. Successes like these can point the way to new and innovative applications of psychological ideas like Bandura’s social cognitive theory, aimed at improving public awareness around important issues of public concern.
posted by Michael | Friday, July 15, 2005
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