Psychology2016

Theories of Personality 515

The Behavioral and Social Cognitive View of Personality

At the time that Freud’s theory was shocking the Western world, another psychological
perspective was also making its influence known. In Chapter Five the theories of classi-
cal and operant conditioning were discussed in some detail. Behaviorists (researchers who
use the principles of conditioning to explain the actions and reactions of both animals
and humans) and social cognitive theorists (researchers who emphasize the influence of
social and cognitive factors on learning) have a very different view of personality.

Learning Theories

13.5 Compare and contrast the learning theories of Bandura and Rotter.

For the behaviorist, personality is nothing more than a set of learned responses or habits
(DeGrandpre, 2000; Dollard & Miller, 1950). In the strictest traditional view of Watson
and Skinner, everything a person or animal does is a response to some stimulus that has
been either conditioned, or reinforced in some way.

So how does a pattern of rewarding certain behavior end up

becoming part of some kind of personality pattern?

Think about how a traditional behaviorist might explain a shy personality.
Beginning in childhood, a person might be exposed to a parent with a rather harsh dis-
cipline style (stimulus). Avoiding the attention of that parent would result in fewer pun-
ishments and scoldings, so that avoidance response is negatively reinforced—the “bad
thing” or punishment is avoided by keeping out of sight and quiet. Later, that child
might generalize that avoidance response to other authority figures and adults, such as
teachers. In this way, a pattern (habit) of shyness would develop.
Of course, many learning theorists today do not use only classical and operant con-
ditioning to explain the development of the behavior patterns referred to as personality.
Social cognitive learning theorists, who emphasize the importance of both the influ-
ences of other people’s behavior and of a person’s own expectancies on learning, hold
that observational learning, modeling, and other cognitive learning techniques can lead
to the formation of patterns of personality. to Learning Objective 5.12.
One of the more well-researched learning theories that includes the concept of
cognitive processes as influences on behavior is the social cognitive theory of Albert
Bandura. In the social cognitive view, behavior is governed not just by the influence
of external stimuli and response patterns but also by cognitive processes such as antici-
pating, judging, and memory as well as learning through the imitation of models. In fact,
you might remember Bandura’s work with observation learning and imitation of models
from his Bobo doll study. to Learning Objective 5.13.

BANDURA’S RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM AND SELF-EFFICACY Bandura (1989)
believes that three factors influence one another in determining the patterns of behav-
ior that make up personality: the environment, the behavior itself, and personal or
cognitive factors that the person brings into the situation from earlier experiences (see
Figure 13. 2 ). These three factors each affect the other two in a reciprocal, or give-and-
take, relationship. Bandura calls this relationship reciprocal determinism.
Ta k e a l o o k a t Figure 13. 2. The environment includes the actual physical surround-
ings, the other people who may or may not be present, and the potential for reinforce-
ment in those surroundings. The intensity and frequency of the behavior will not only
be influenced by the environment but will also have an impact on that environment.

habits

in behaviorism, sets of well-learned

responses that have become

automatic.

social cognitive view

learning theory that includes cognitive

processes such as anticipating, judging,

memory, and imitation of models.

social cognitive learning theorists

theorists who emphasize the impor-

tance of both the influences of other

people’s behavior and of a person’s

own expectancies on learning.

reciprocal determinism

Bandura’s explanation of how the

factors of environment, personal

characteristics, and behavior can

interact to determine future behavior.