Socio-cognitive Approaches

how do learning theories explain personality?

personality is learned through experience

it is consistent patterns of behaviour shaped by these learning experiences

what did behaviourism suggest? (Watson)

personality is the sum of what you do (no inner personality needed)

comes from emotional conditioning

radical behaviourism

skinner - operant conditioning

personality is a learned repertoire, shaped by each persons reinforcement history

thoughts are private behaviour, not causes

just environment → behaviour (no mind needed)

what were the cognitive theories?

personality is how you perceive and interpret the world

individual differences = differences in how people process information

what is personal construct theory? (Kelly)

‘person as scientist’ - we build theories about the world, then test and revise them

personality = how a person construes (reads) people and events

motivated by anticipating the future

what is a personal construct?

a way of perceiving, construing or interpreting events

ideas or categories used to interpret their world

some categories are universal but others vary

dimensions of paired-opposites

what are chronically accessible constructs?

highly accessible from memory so easily activated by external events

where to constructs come from?

from experience but not determined by it

constructive alternativism - any event can be interpreted in more than one way

allows for flexibility and creativity in behaviour and explains individual differences

people can change but re-construing the basis cognitive restructuring

what is the repertory grid?

role construct repertory test - use a structured interview to identify and assess the constructs used by an individual

identify unhelpful constructs and challenge them - can be used in therapy

what is a contemporary approach?

schemas - organised knowledge that guides what we notice and remember

prototypes - the ‘typical’ example of a category

what are social-cognitive theories?

address the problem of behaviourism - people learn without direct reinforcement

keeps learning but adds the mind (thoughts, values and expectancies)

agency - people actively shape their own development

what was Rotters social learning theory?

behaviour depends on:

expectancy - will this behaviour pay off?

reinforcement value - how much do I want the outcome?

behaviour potential = f(expectancy, reinforcement value)

what we believe will happen matters more than what actually would

what are the 2 kinds of expectancy?

1. specific - based own experience in this kind of situation

2. generalised - broad beliefs we rely on in new situations

experience gradually turns general expectancies into specific ones

what is locus of control?

internal LOC = people feel in control and empowered to change things

external LOC = people feel helpless and powerless to change and expect that personal effort will make little difference in outcomes

fairly stable over time but can change

can differ across areas of life

how does LOC link to wellbeing?

more external LOC is linked to depression and poorer health during COVID

more internal LOC is linked with better quality of life in chronic illness and higher life satisfaction

(correlational)

what was Banduras social learning theory?

his theory emphasised: cognition over reinforcement, observation over direct experience and self-regulation

what is reciprocal determinism?

personality, behaviour and environment all influence each other

we are shaped by situations but we also choose and change them

we use forethought - imagine outcomes, set goals and plan

what is observational learning?

modelling - learn by watching others

active process - attention, retention, reproduction and motivation

behaviour can be learned without being performed

vicarious reinforcement - seeing a model rewarded makes copying more likely

what is self-efficacy? (Bandura)

belief in your ability to do what’s needed to succeed

difference between believing that something can happen in the future (outcome expectation) and believing you can make is happen (efficacy expectations)

you need both efficacy expectation and outcome expectation to act

why does self-efficacy matter?

predicts whether we attempt a task, our effort and our persistence

low self-efficacy predicted relapse after quitting smoking

high self-efficacy predicts better recovery after trauma

what is learned helplessness?

when individual experiences repeated lack of control so has an extreme external LOC and believes they are helpless

what are the 4 sources of self-efficacy?

1. mastery experiences - succeeding yourself (strongest)

2. vicarious experience - seeing similar others succeed

3. verbal persuasion - encouragement from others

4. physiological and emotional states - how we read our own arousal

what is Walter Mischel suggest?

personality and assessment - traits predicted behaviour in particular situations only weakly

peronslaity shows up as stable if… then patterns

CAPS - constructs, expectancies, goals and feelings, activated by situations

(marshmellow test)

what are the limitations of socio-cognitive approaches?

underplays biology: genes and temperament

not one unified theory

much evidence comes from the lab

reduces individual to a few variables rather than whole person

mechanical determinism

findings are often correlational

what are the strengths of socio-cognitive approaches to personality?

brings thinking back in

clear, testable concepts and strong experimental evidence

takes the environment and situation seriously

optimistic - learned patters can change

practical impact - CBT, health and education