Itsey, a kindergarten student, watches her father tower over her mother, glaring at her; she then hears her father yelling at her mother. At school, the teacher tells the students to sit on the carpet for story time. Itsey does not want to sit down just yet; she is busy at one of the centers in the classroom. Her teacher again asks everyone to sit down and everyone does, except for Itsey. The teacher then directly asks Itsey to sit down. Itsey looks at her teacher and says she doesn't want to sit down and she better stop asking her to sit down; the next time she does, Itsey will bring a knife to school and cut her. What theory aligns to the exchange between Itsey and her teacher?

Question

Itsey, a kindergarten student, watches her father tower over her mother, glaring at her; she then hears her father yelling at her mother.  At school, the teacher tells the students to sit on the carpet for story time.  Itsey does not want to sit down just yet; she is busy at one of the centers in the classroom. Her teacher again asks everyone to sit down and  everyone does, except for Itsey.  The teacher then directly asks Itsey to sit down.  Itsey looks at her teacher and says she doesn't want to sit down and she better stop asking her to sit down; the next time she does, Itsey will bring a knife to school and cut her.  What theory aligns to the exchange between Itsey and her teacher?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Itsey's behavior aligns with the social learning theory, which suggests that people learn from observing others' behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes of those behaviors. In this case, Itsey is mimicking the aggressive behavior she observed at home, indicating she learned this response from watching her father's actions towards her mother.

Itsey, a Kindergarten Student, Watches Her Father Tower Over Her