AP Psychology

SOCIAL-COGNITIVE THEORIES

Social-cognitive perspective emphasized the interaction of cognitive, behavioral, environmental and learning factors, which affect personality.How do your thoughts, behaviors & environment influence your personality?

SOCIAL-COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

Perspective stating that understanding personality involves considering the situation and thoughts before, during, and after an event

SOCIAL-COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE ALBERT BANDURA (1925- )

SOCIAL COGNITIVE DIFFERS FROM HUMANISTIC & PSYCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVES IN THREE WAYS:

1. It relies heavily on experimental findings

2. It emphasizes conscious, self-regulating behavior

3. It emphasizes that our sense of self (personality) can vary, depending on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a given situation.

THE SOCIAL-COGNITIVE

PERSPECTIVE: INTERACTING WITH OUR ENVIRONMENT

Albert Bandura

Reciprocal determinism - explains personality is the result of behavioral, cognitive, and environmental factorsAccording to Bandura, personality is influenced by: Thoughts (cognition), The way a person acts

(behavior), The environment one grows

up in.

SOCIAL COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVEKEY TERMS

RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM

Self-efficacy—the beliefs or opinions a person has about him or herself, also influence personality. The thought of “I think I can” would positively affect the way a person acts when performing a task or activity

SOCIAL COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVEKEY TERMS

The sense that one can control the outcome of one’s environment

We develop this in childhood but it continues as a lifelong process.

SELF-EFFICACY-ACQUISITION

Performance Outcomes Self-Modeling

Verbal Encouragment

Emotional State

Development of Self-Efficacy

Behavior and Performance

We develop new behaviors and strengthen our self-efficacy by observing others and through mastery experiences.

Different from Self-Esteem which is more global – How you feel about yourself in overall.

SELF-EFFICACY-STRENGTHS

THE SOCIAL-COGNITIVE

PERSPECTIVE:PERSONAL

CONTROL

Julian Rotter and Martin Seligman

Rotter believed that learning results in expectancies, which are our expectations of the outcome of a situation.

JULIAN ROTTER—EXPECTANCY THEORY

These expectancies guide behaviorExample: personal effort, through what we think is going to happen- this can also be influenced by our sense of control in a situation

The perception that chance, or forces beyond a person’s control, control one’s fateThe expectation to fail because you did not write the test, or don’t know what is going to be on the test

EXTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL

The perception that we control our own fateYou control how long and how much you study, resulting in the expectation that you can pass the test

INTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL

Seligman believed that learned helplessness results when people who repeatedly attempt something and continuously fail will eventually give up

MARTIN SELIGMAN--LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

Martin Seligman studied dogs that were unable to escape a painful stimulus and eventually stopped trying to escape.

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

THE SOCIAL-COGNITIVE

PERSPECTIVE:EVALUATING THE

PERSPECTIVE

EVALUATION OF SOCIAL COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

Well-grounded in empirical, laboratory researchHowever, laboratory experiences are rather simple and may not reflect the complexity of human interactions

Ignores the influences of unconscious, emotions, conflicts instead placing responsibility of behavior firmly on ourselves.

Freud Human

aggression is a universal unconscious instinct controlled by the superego and restraints of society.

Bandura All behavior is

driven by conscious goals and motives.

Aggression is the result of a deliberate, rational choice in a particular situation.

FREUD VS. BANDURA ON HUMAN AGGRESSION