abuse of alcohol and self-destructive tendencies are detailed in the biography
Goodnight, Sweet Princeby his friend, the author Gene Fowler.
Observational learningtakes place when an individual imitates the be-
havior of a role model. For example, Martha admires her mother, a physician.
Martha observes from childhood through adolescence her mother’s dedication
to medicine and her concern for patients. Wanting to be like her mother,
Martha enters medical school when she is twenty-two years old. Her adult per-
sonality displays the traits of dedication and concern originally modeled by her
mother.
As with operant conditioning, if one’s innate disposition is in opposition to
the behavior of a model, then there may be internal conflict.
It is clear that the learning process plays a significant role in the acquisition of
a personality.(a) Assume that an individual’s innate tendency is to be an introvert and that extraversion is
reinforced. Then development will be somewhat strained, and the adult personality is
likely to be.
(b) takes place when an individual imitates the behavior of a role model.
Answers: (a) conflicted; (b) Observational learning.The Conscious Individual: The Self-Shaping
of the Personality
The individual is, of course, shaped by powerful forces, the kinds of forces
already described in this chapter. However, it is possible to shift the emphasis
from a generally reactive process to a proactive one. A proactive behavioral
processfocuses on the role played by consciousness in the acquisition of per-
sonality. The humanistic viewpoint(see chapter 1) recognizes that the indi-
vidual can think, reflect, and decide. Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, two of
the principal advocates of the humanistic viewpoint, called attention to the idea
that an adult does not have to be a pawn of fate, a plaything of genetic tenden-
cies and childhood experiences. Instead, consciousness can be used as a self-
shaping tool.
Maslow believed that the process of self-actualization was to some extent
under the control of one’s will. A person can choose to take the kinds of actions
that will help him or her to maximize talents and potential. Maslow asserted that
human beings have a great capacity for autonomy,the power to control and
direct one’s own life.(a) A behavioral process focuses on the role played by consciousness in the
acquisition of personality.204 PSYCHOLOGY