Chapter 7: Cognitive & Social Cognitive Aspects

Schema Theory

As children develop, they encounter new information and experiences.

They develop complex cognitive structures.

Patterns of understanding the world.

Schema: a cognitive structure that organizes knowledge, experience, & expectations about one’s environment.

Ppl have schemas for most every concept in their experience.

Those schemas differ among individuals.

Script: a schema that guides behavior in social situations.

Exs: How to behave at a restaurant. What happens at a meeting. What to do in an emergency.

Specifies the roles and actions of all participants.

Categorization

The stimuli normally experienced in everyday life are highly complex and voluminous.

To prevent being overwhelmed, ppl learn to categorize.

Categorization: process of filtering and sorting complex pieces of information into a smaller number of groups (categories), based upon familiar features.

Ex) Visual perceptions of ppl are sorted into male vs. female, young vs. old, etc.

Largely an automatic process.

The same process of categorization can lead to errors.

Stereotypes: a schema or belief about the traits that are typical of some group.

Efficiency can lead to premature judgments.

Personal Construct Theory

George Kelly (US, 1950s-60s).

Ppl actively attempt to understand the world and construct their own theories about human behavior.

Ppl develop ideas and constructs, for themselves, which help them understand the world.

Behavior is guided by person’s interpretations of their surroundings and resulting expectations.

Hence, each person uses their own individualized set of constructs to understand the world.

Those are based upon the experiences unique to each person.

Explanatory Style

Person’s habitual way of interpreting events in life.

Key dimension: Optimism vs. pessimism.

Optimistic style: Tendency to identify positive aspects or potential in neutral or negative events.

Pessimistic style: Tendency to focus on negative aspects, even in positive situations.

Moderate optimists tend to perform better on tasks.

But unrealistic or excessive optimism can lead to poorer performance, due to overlooking or downplaying potential problems.

Locus of Control 

Julian Rotter (US, 1950s-80s).

Locus of Control (LoC): pertains to where the person locates the source of control over situational outcomes. Two dimensions.

Internal LoC: generalized expectancy that one’s own actions lead to situational outcomes.

External LoC: generalized expectancy that situational outcomes are controlled by factors external to the self.

Hannah Levenson (1980s): refined the LoC model; 3 dimensions.

Internal LoC.

External LoC.

Chance.

Powerful Others.

High Internal LoC:

More achievement oriented.

More independent.

High External LoC:

Less independent.

More prone to experience stress & depressed mood.

Tweng et al. (2004):

Over the past 40 years, LoC of young adult Americans has become increasingly external.

Believe their lives are more controlled by external forces, compared to their parents at the same age.

Social-Cognitive Learning Theory 

Albert Bandura (US, 1970s-80s).

Self-system: 

Set of cognitive processes by which person perceives, evaluates, & regulates their own behavior so it is appropriate to the environment & effective in achieving goals.

Behavior is affected by:

External (environmental) factors: RFT, PUN.

Internal (cognitive) factors:

Expectations.

Anticipated RFT, PUN.

Plans.

Goals.

Person does not simply respond to environmental conditions.

Person can cognitively learn to anticipate consequences of their behavior.

Person can then choose actions based on those expectancies.

Observational learning: learning through observation alone, without direct experience of the conditioning.

Aka. “Vicarious learning” (secondhand), “modeling.”

Pertains to both classical & operant conditioning.

CC example: Child observes parent repeatedly fearful of insects. Child forms similar fear of insects.

OC example: Child observes sibling being punished for whining. Child also reduces his/her whining.

Effects are generally less powerful than with direct conditioning.

Learning of aggressive behavior (Bandura).

Social-Cognitive Learning Theory (4)

Outcome expectancies:

Anticipated consequences of a behavior.

Ppl more likely to perform a behavior, when they believe that behavior will lead to positive outcomes.

Self-regulation:

Ability to monitor and modulate one’s own behavior on the basis of various internal cognitive factors.

Goals, values, planning, self-reinforcement, self-punishment.

Self-efficacy: An expectancy.

The belief or expectation about how competently one can perform a behavior in a specific situation.

Positive self-efficacy: Belief that one can do something successfully.

Self-efficacy affects:

Whether person even attempts a behavior.

How long person persists in the face of difficulty.

How success or failure affects future behavior.

Four factors determine self-efficacy (decreasing order of effect):

Prior experience with that behavior or a similar behavior (i.e., past success or failure).

Observing others perform the behavior (vicarious experience).

Verbal persuasion (encouragement by others).

Emotional reactions (how we feel about the behavior).