Behaviorist View of Personality

Behaviorist View of Personality Behaviorist view of personality = habits Everything a person does is a response to some environment stimulus that has been reinforced by reward in some way

Behaviorist View of Personality Explanation of a shy personality In childhood, parent had harsh disciplinary style Child is negatively reinforced to keep quiet Later child may have generalized their approach to other adults (maybe teachers) Thus…..the habit of shyness develops and continues

Bandura is Back! Social Cognitive Theory How does our environment (physical surroundings including people) interact with our behavior (intensity, frequency, influence from and on our environment) our cognition (previously reinforced responses and processing)

Social Cognitive Theory Reciprocal Determinism: the interacting influences between personality, environmental factors and internal cognition. FOR EXAMPLE: Internal Cognitive Factor: talkative, confidence Behavior: Volunteering your answers Environmental Factors: getting feedback from teacher, doing better next time, thus increasing your confidence Internal Cognitive Factors Behavior Environmental Factors

Personal Control Our sense of controlling our environment rather than the environment controlling us. Exercising will power actually depletes mental energy and blood sugar Gaining self control in one area of life tends to spill over into other areas Control impulses, delay gratification Option of controlling environment is correlated with improved health and high morale Excessive freedom leads to decreasing life satisfaction

External Locus of Control The perception that chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate. Can be healthy at times, but often leads to learned helplessness (once you have the option to control, you don’t take it)

Internal Locus of Control The perception that one controls one’s own fate.

External vs. Internal You did well on a test, how would you explain it? External: you got lucky, the teacher made an easy test Internal: your hard work, good study habits, and interest in the topic

The belief that you are likely to be successful at something Self-efficacy The belief that you are likely to be successful at something If I believe I am likely to be successful in math, I may choose to take more math classes, and actually become a better math student. Self-efficacy is a powerful determinant of future success, but… …be wary of overconfidence. It can lead students to perform lower (“I don’t need to study”) and may encourage unwise risks (“I can drive on ice.”)

What would you attempt to do, if you knew you could not fail?