Module 63: Social-Cognitive Theories of Personality

Social-cognitive perspective

Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context

Behavioral approach

Focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development

Reciprocal determinism

The interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

What criticisms have social-cognitive theorists faced?

Faulted for underemphasizing the importance of unconscious motives, emotions, and biologically influenced traits