Theories_of_Personality 7th Ed Feist

Feist−Feist: Theories of

Personality, Seventh

Edition

V. Learning Theories 17. Rotter and Mischel:

Cognitive Social Learning

Theory

© The McGraw−Hill^531

Companies, 2009

unhappy, conflicted, or maladjusted; (6) somewhat more likable and popular;
(7) more trustworthy; (8) neither more nor less gullible; and (9) neither more nor less
intelligent. In other words, high trusters are not gullible or naive, and rather than
being harmed by their trustful attitude, they seem to possess many of the character-
istics that other people regard as positive and desirable.

Maladaptive Behavior

Maladaptive behavior in Rotter’s social learning theory is any persistent behavior
that fails to move a person closer to a desired goal. It frequently, but not inevitably,
arises from the combination of high need value and low freedom of movement: that
is, from goals that are unrealistically high in relation to one’s ability to achieve them
(Rotter, 1964).
For example, the need for love and affection is realistic, but some people un-
realistically set a goal to be loved by everyone. Hence, their need value will nearly
certainly exceed their freedom of movement, resulting in behavior that is likely to be
defensive or maladaptive. When people set their goals too high, they cannot learn
productive behaviors because their goals are beyond reach. Instead, they learn how
to avoid failure or how to defend themselves against the pain that accompanies fail-
ure. For example, a woman whose goal is to be loved by everyone inevitably will be
ignored or rejected by someone. To obtain love, she may become socially aggressive
(a nonproductive, self-defeating strategy), or she may withdraw from people, which
prevents her from being hurt by them but which is also nonproductive.
Setting goals too high is only one of several possible contributors to maladap-
tive behavior. Another frequent cause is low freedom of movement. People may have
low expectancies of success because they lack information or the ability to perform
those behaviors that will be followed by positive reinforcement. A person who val-
ues love, for example, may lack the interpersonal skills necessary to obtain it.

Chapter 17 Rotter and Mischel: Cognitive Social Learning Theory 525

TABLE 17.2

Sample Items From Rotter’s Interpersonal Trust Scale

1. In dealing with strangers, one is better off to be cautious until they have provided
   evidence that they are trustworthy.


2. Parents usually can be relied on to keep their promises.


3. Parents and teachers are likely to say what they believe themselves and not just what
   they think is good for the child to hear.


4. Most elected public officials are really sincere in their campaign promises.


5. In these competitive times, one has to be alert or someone is likely to take advantage
   of you.


6. Most people can be counted on to do what they say they will do.


7. Most salesmen are honest in describing their products.

From J. B. Rotter (1967). A new scale for the measurement of interpersonal trust. Journal of Personality, 35, p. 654;
and M. R. Gurtman, 1992. Trust, distrust, and interpersonal problems: A circumplex analysis. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 62,p. 997.