2. Archie Comics debuted in 1941. It is
noted as being the sophisticated
embodiment of the baby boomers
generation class and gender warfare.
It is a comic book about the lives and
families of a group of teenagers who
are each psychologically genuine
characters,
Archie is from a middle class family
and is obsessed with girls.
Betty is the nice girl who fits in as a
girl’s girl or a tom boy.
Archie’s Mom is a Real Estate Agent
and his Dad is a businessman.
Dr. Sara Bellum: is a psychiatrist. (If
not for this class, I wouldn’t have got
the connection. ”Cerebellum”
3. Archie’s Dad is asking “Don’t you want
to please your parents”
Social Psychology
*Conformity – Normative Social
Influence; Person’s desire for other’s
approval. “Approval Motive”
Operant Conditioning
* Negative Reinforcement – “I won’t get
mad, tell me why” This opens up Archie
to tell him because anger is eliminated.
4. Now Archie’s Dad has given him a new
desk and lamp.
Operant Conditioning – if I do my
homework, I will get new things.
Now the parents argue over how
“involved” they should be.
Associative Learning – Homework and
my parents arguing go hand in hand.
5. Now Archie’s Dad finds out that he didn’t
turn in his homework on time.
*Operant Conditioning; negative
reinforcement – Dad did not get mad
and he did not get in trouble for not
turning in his assignment on time.
Archie’s Dad then proceeds to offer him
a present if he turns in his assignments
on time for a week.
*Operant Conditioning; positive
reinforcement – if I turn it in for a week
on time, I will get a present.
Then I should get another present for the
next week….
*Associative learning; I didn’t do it right
but if I do it now, I will be rewarded
again and again possibly.
6. Now Mom wants to know why Dad is so
anxious about Archie’s homework. Dad
says “ the boy has my genes! He’s got
to hate homework too”!
*Social Reality – Behavioral Expectation
Confirmation – Enables a person to
influence other people to behave in
accordance with his/her expectations.
7. Dad no longer tries to help with
homework but he continues to take a
keen interest.
*Operant Conditioning – Continuous
reinforcement. Archie’s behavior is
rewarded every time it occurs.
*Associative Learning – Dad’s approval
and my grade’s go hand in hand.
And then there’s Miss Betty; Operant
and Associative again. Studying with
Betty is continuously positively
reinforced and homework and his
favorite cookies make a fine pair.
8. I have been reading Archie Comics for years, but now that I have taken a
Psychology class, I see them differently. I have done a lot of research and
it is interesting that they are analyzed.
“A Psychological Analysis of Archie Comic Book Characters” –
http://boomerye.startlogic.com
