Chapter 17:Self-RegulationChapter 15:Personal Constructs

Theories of PersonalityMay 9, 2003Class #14

Self-Regulation Perspective Over the past two decades self-regulation theory

has emerged to offer a whole new perspective on human behavior

With its focus on the ways in which individuals direct and monitor their activities and emotions to attain their goals, the theory provides a dynamic framework for understanding the complexities of behavior in response to emotionally provocative events, such as illness and stressful experiences People are always striving to attain a goal

This being a never-ending battle

Constant Monitoring…

Behavior is regulated by cycles involving the monitoring of one’s own status, comparison of status with expectations, and “course correction” when they don’t match

Self-Monitoring: Life as theater

There seems to be degrees to which people attend to and control the impression they make on others in social interactions High self-monitoring

Very sensitive to how they are being perceived by others

Good at adjusting how people see them Good actors Good at reading others

Self-Monitoring: Life as theater

Low self-monitoring Either don’t care or lack ability to

detect how they are perceived by others

Don’t attempt to adjust

From Cognitions to Behavior

Motor schemas Information that helps us to produce behavior,

action Information or schemas used for

understanding, will influence later behavior Considering the role or memory

As you think about a situation, you activate certain memory nodes

Behavioral qualities linked to those nodes also become activated, making these behaviors more likely to occur

Self-regulation and feedback control

Feedback loop Self-regulating system

Like thermostat in your house Regulate towards a goal, standard or reference value

For example: 68 degrees Perception of present situation or behavior

Present temp. is 70 degrees Comparing present situation (or behavior) with goal 

(comparator) 2 degrees too warm

Change in behavior (or situation) if needed AC kicks on to cool house to 68 degrees

Albert Bandura was involved with this theory as well…

Self-regulation -- controlling our own behavior -- was the “workhorse” of human personality.  He suggests three important steps in this process:

1.  Self-observation We look at ourselves, our behavior, and keep tabs on

it. 2.  Judgment

We compare what we see with a standard For example, we can compare our performance with

traditional standards, such as “rules of etiquette”  Or we can create arbitrary ones, like “I’ll read a book a

week”  Or we can compete with others, or with ourselves

Bandura’s self-regulation views…

3. Self-response  If you did well in comparison with your

standard, you give yourself rewarding self-responses

If you did poorly, you give yourself punishing self-responses

These self-responses can range from the obvious (treating yourself to a sundae or working late) to the more covert (feelings of pride or shame)

Are you hard or easy on yourself?

A very important concept in psychology that can be understood well with self-regulation is self-concept (better known as self-esteem) If, over the years, you find yourself meeting

your standards and life loaded with self-praise and self-reward, you will have a pleasant self-concept (high self-esteem)

If, on the other hand, you find yourself forever failing to meet your standards and punishing yourself, you will have a poor self-concept (low self-esteem).

Implications of self-regulation model

Behavior is purposeful Much effort to adjust behavior to meet criteria or

goal Process of self regulation is continuous

and never-ending For example: maintaining good grades, job

performance, etc.

Research Methods on Self Regulation

Evaluation of self through measure such as self-consciousness scaleHypothesis that self focus should increase

comparator process Behavior should then shift to more closely

correspond with goal Findings usually show that self attention

caused greater conformity to the value or goal

Self Regulation Therapy Effort is made to break down automatic

thoughts/ behaviors which may be maladaptive Then work to make desired responses more

automatic (in place of problem responses) Often accomplished through imagery, role play,

homework in real life settings Process of therapy is a feedback system Process of therapy is dynamic as goals,

behavior are shifting Emphasis on problem solving skills (means-

ends analysis)

Potential Problems in self-regulation process

At times, self regulation is driven by lower level goals

We may temporarily lose sight of higher order goalsFor example:

When describing ourselves, tend to focus on what we DO, suggests importance of program level

Potential Problems in self-regulation process

Metaphor of human computer may depersonalize, doesn't consider free will, spirituality

People try to match several values at once Form example:

Caring for family, completing work goals, etc.

Can cause conflict

George Kelly (1905-1967) Born in 1905 in Kansas He pursued undergraduate study for three

years at Friends University followed by one year at Park College

Here he graduated with the Bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics, but his interests had already begun to shift to social problems--perhaps in part because of experiences that he had gained in intercollegiate debates

In line with this newly developing interest, he pursued graduate study in educational sociology at the University of Kansas

His master's thesis was a study of the leisure time activities of workers in Kansas City, and he completed minor studies in labor relations and sociology

Kelly’s Background At this point, George Kelly's activities expanded to

include a wide range of teaching in different situations

He was a part-time instructor in a labor college in Minneapolis

He taught classes in speech for the American Bankers Association, and he taught an Americanization class for future citizens

An additional brief spell as an aeronautical engineer in Wichita followed teaching experience in Iowa and at the University of Minnesota

In 1929, he moved to the University of Edinburgh as an exchange scholar

Kelly’s Background He then returned to

the United States and became a graduate student in psychology at the State University of Iowa. In 1931, he received his Ph.D. with a dissertation dealing with common factors in speech and reading disabilities

Kelly's Personal Construct Theory Kelly placed the emphasis on cognition in

personality development Cognition includes the processes involved in

thinking, problem solving and predicting events in the environment and Kelly believed that each of us acts like a natural scientist in that one of our prime needs is to predict and control events in our environment We think about what happens to us and we construct

theories about what's going on, attempting to satisfy the drive to make sense of things

A Hypothetical Example… If you ask your normally helpful Psychology

professor for help and he gives you the brush-off, you don't just leave it at that… You try and figure out a reason…

Did you ask in the wrong way? Had you done something to upset him? Perhaps he's got problems that are

causing him to have a “bad day”? You cast your mind back over his and your

behavior and try to work out why this has happened, establishing a theory or two and trying to see how they fit the observed facts

Like a scientist…

Just like a scientist you create your own way of seeing the world in which you live

You builds constructs and try them on for size

In an uncertain universe, the constructs we establish should, like a scientific hypothesis, also have predictive power

Kelly's Personal Construct Theory

In Kelly's view we all develop a set of personal constructs which we use to make sense of the world and the people in it

Our construct systems are not static. They are confirmed or challenged every moment we are conscious

Another hypothetical example…

If we believe that Arctic Airlines offers the best service in the world, and then we have a dreadful trip where everything goes wrong, we do one of two things: We either adapt our construct system, altering

our feelings about them in the light of our experience or we immunize our construct system, with thoughts like “They must have been having a really bad day”, or “Yes, but the airport was so overcrowded they didn't stand a chance”

Our construct systems influence our expectations and perceptions…

Also, if we're expecting Arctic Airlines to treat us well, we probably get on the plane in a better mood than we would on an airline which gave us poor treatment last time

If our experience is that Arctic's cabin staff always smile when they meet us, we probably board the plane with a smile ourselves

We might not notice when Arctic's service fails to live up to standard, but pay attention when it happens with the other airline

Because our construct systems reflect our past experience, they also influence our expectations and behavior

Some constructs, and some aspects of our construct systems, are more important than others…

The airline example repeats in every area of our experience… We feel, think, and behave according to our construct

system We adapt our constructs, immunize them, or have them

confirmed Some of our constructs - those which represent our core

values and concern our key relationships - are complex, quite firmly fixed, wide-ranging, and difficult to change

Others, about things which don't matter so much, or about which we haven't much experience, are simpler, narrower, and carry less personal commitment