| This study of social learning theory was an exploration of the use of classic motion pictures depicting psychological disorders to facilitate college general psychology students' empathy for individuals who have such disorders. Research has shown that learning is enhanced through the use of animated visual aids such as movies. Though many articles have been written about using movies in classroom learning, a gap remains in the current literature in terms of empirical support for the notion that learning translates into empathy. The purpose of this study was to determine whether showing movie depictions of specific psychological disorders can increase college psychology students' empathy for individuals afflicted with psychological disorders. One hundred and sixteen community college students enrolled in introductory psychology classes participated in this study. The methodology entailed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design using two groups, namely, lecture only and lectures with movies. The Empathy and Perspective scales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index were the instruments used. ANCOVA and t tests were used post hoc to determine whether the differences between the control group and the treatment group were larger than expected by chance. The ANCOVA results indicated that compared to just learning about psychological disorders, movie depictions of specific disorders did not increase the students' empathy for the individuals with such disorders. This study will promote positive social change by increasing current awareness of psychological disorders, thus promoting action related to these disorders through empathy and perspective. |
