Personality Theory Exam 2

Behaviorism

Psychology should study only observable behavior, not internal mental states

Learning (behaviorist definition)

Process in which behavior changes to fit environmental demands

Two main behaviorist mechanisms

Classical condition and operant conditioning

Behaviorist definition of personality

A set of learned tendencies developed over a lifetime

Behaviorist view of personality

Personality is learned, situational, and observable

Unconditioned stimulus

Stimulus that naturally triggers a response

Unconditioned response

Automatic response to a unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned stimulus

Previously neutral stimulus that becomes associated with unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned response

Learned response to the conditioned stimulus

Acquisition

Initial learning of the conditioned response

Extinction

Gradual weakening of conditioned response when unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented

Generalization

Responding similarly to stimuli similar to conditioned stimulus

Discrimination

Learning to respond differently to similar stimuli

Emotional conditioning

Classical conditioning producing emotional responses

Counterconditioning

Replacing maladaptive responses with new responses

Systematic desensitization

Pairing anxiety stimulus with relaxation

Flooding

Prolonged exposure to feared stimulus

Aversive conditioning

Pairing unwanted behavior with unpleasant stimulus

Operant conditioning

Behavior modified by consequences

Law of effect

Behaviors followed by satisfying outcomes increase

Positive reinforcement

Adding pleasant stimulus to increase behavior

Negative reinforcement

Removing aversive stimulus to increase behavior

Positive punishment

Adding aversive stimulus to decrease behavior

Response cost

Negative punishment; removing pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior

Primary reinforcers

Biological rewards (food; water)

Secondary reinforcers

Learned rewards (money, praise)

Shaping

Reinforcing successive approximations toward target behavior

Continuous reinforcement

Reinforce every behavior occurrence

Partial reinforcement

Reinforce behavior intermittently

Fixed ratio

Reinforcement after set number of responses

Variable ratio

Reinforcement after varying responses (most addictive)

Fixed interval

Reinforcement after fixed time period

Variable interval

Reinforcement after varying time intervals

Premack principle

High-frequency behavior reinforces low-frequency behavior

Behaviorist explanation of abnormal behavior

Maladaptive behaviors are learned through conditioning

Depression (behaviorist)

Loss of positive reinforcement

Phobias (behaviorist)

Learned through classical conditioning

Addiction (behaviorist)

Maintained by positive and negative reinforcement

Token economy

Reinforcement using tokens exchanged for rewards

Contingency management

Reinforcing desired behaviors

George Kelly

Made personal construct theory

Personal construct

Bipolar cognitive template used to interpret events

Constructive alternativism

Interpretations of reality can always change

Man-the-scientist metaphor

People form hypotheses and test them

Fundamental postulate

Behavior guided by how people anticipate events

Core constructs

Central to identity

Peripheral constructs

Less central and easier to change

Permeability

Ability of constructs to change

Bipolar constructs

All constructs have two opposite poles

Kelly Corollaries

High-yield

Construction corollary

We interpret events based on past experiences

Individuality corollary

People interpret events differently

Organization corollary

Constructs arranged hierarchically

Dichotomy corollary

Constructs are bipolar

Choice corollary

People choose options expanding constructs

Range corollary

Constructs apply to limited situations

Experience corollary

Constructs change with experience

Modulation corollary

Change depends on construct permeability

Fragmentation corollary

People may hold contradictory constructs

Commonality corollary

Similar constructs create similarity

Sociality corollary

Understanding others requires understanding constructs

Corollary

A proposition that logically follows from a main theory

Anxiety (Kelly)

Events outside construct system

Threat

Imminent change to core constructs

Guilt

Dislodgment from core role

Fear

Incidental construct change

Hostility

Forcing reality to fit constructs

REP test

Role construct repertory test

Role construct repertory test

Assessment identifying personal constructs

Idiographic approach

Focus on individual uniqueness

Nomothetic approach

Compare to population norms

Social cognitive theory

Behavior shaped by interaction of cognition and environment

Key emphasis of social-cognitive theory

Active agents, cognition, social learning

Schema

Mental organization of knowledge

Prototype

Best example of a category

Exemplar

Specific example of category

Assimilation

Fit new info into existing schema

Accommodation

Modify schema to fit new info

Self-schema

Schema about oneself

Self-concept

Content of self-schema

Self-complexity

Structure of self-schema

High self-complexity

Better psychological adjustment

Low self-complexity

Greater vulnerability to stress

Social schemas

Organize social information

Schemas and memory

Influence encoding, storage, retrieval

Prejudice (schema)

Rigid social schema distorting perception

Confirmation bias in schemas

Seek confirmation evidence, ignore contradictions

Behavior influence

Environment, thoughts, social factors

Social cognitive perspective key idea

Stimulus → Thinking → Behavior; this differs from strict behaviorism (Stimulus → Behavior)

Why social-cognitive theory was developed

Behaviorism was too limited because it: ignored thinking, ignored learning without reinforcement, ignored social influences: social cognitive theory fixes those gaps

Social cognitive theory emphasizes

People are active agents, social origins of behavior, cognitive processes (thinking), both consistency and variability in behavior, learning without rewards

Three unique human abilities

According to social cognitive theory: use language to reason, think about past AND future, reflect on themselves (self-awareness)

Schema

Mental framework used to organize information

Schema characteristics

Develop from experience, organize similar information, contain prototypes and exemplars, attract confirming evidence, resist change

Prototype

Best example of category (ie., labrador)

Exemplar

Specific example (ie., your dog “rusty”)

Schemas affect

Attention (what we notice), learning speed, interpretations of events, memory

Assimilation

Add information to existing schema

Accommodation

Change schema

Schemas influence

Encoding, storage, retrieval