AP PSYCH 7.7 Behaviorism and Social-Cognitive Theories of Personality

All Begins with Behavior

• Only behavior is observable and therefore able to be studied
  • Ignoring for the time being modern methods of measuring brain activity
  • Internal factors (cognition) are not observable or measurable, they are in the “black box”
• Behaviorism proposes that personality is a function of the environment
• Personality is predictable, based on the history of reinforcements and punishments
• Inconsistences in personality or behavior are explained by the situation, not internal factors
• B.F. Skinner is one of the founders of this ideology
• To many psychologists, it felt like there had to be more, or that something was missing

Social Cognitive Theories

• These psychologists who wanted more proposed that personality is due to a combination of environmental conditions, behavior, and cognitive factors
  • This opens the “black box” and introduces influence from internal factors
• Theorists like Julian Rotter and Albert Bandra expanded on the ideas of behaviorism and introduced new concepts
• The research followed to support their new theories
  • The “Bobo doll” study showed the effects of aggressiveness, modeling, and learning from example

Rotter’s Expectancy Theory

• We learn what to expect in different situations
• Our behavior is governed by those expectations and how much we care about the outcome
• Your belief in your own ability to affect the outcome is referred to as “locus of control”
  • An internal locus of control is when you have high expectations of being able to exert some control over the situation
  • External locus of control is when you believe the outcome is determined by factors outside your control such as fate or luck
• Born with all capabilities but external factors determine if we reach full potential

Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

• Personality is learned in a social situation
• There are 3 main components: observational learning, self-efficacy, and reciprocal determinism
• Observational learning is seeing something modeled, then replicating it
• Self-efficacy is one’s own level of belief in their ability to be successful or not at a specific task
• Reciprocal determinism is the interaction of your mental state, your behavior, and the environment
  • All of these factors can affect the others

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