Albert Bandura Walter Mischel Behaviorism Personality Theory, also known as Cognitive-Social Personality Theory. Albert Bandura Walter Mischel

The Locus of Control Refers to where people believe control of their fate lies. Do they control their fate, or is up to outside factors? -Developed by Julian Rotter in the 1960’s External Locus of Control - The belief that what will happen to you in the future is determined by happenings out of your control. Internal Locus of Control - The belief that you have the majority of the control over your fate.

The Locus of Control People with an internal LOC tend to achieve more, be less depressed, live healthier lives, and have more self-control. Self-Control - The ability to control ones desires and drives to delay gratification. Rotter believed that the LOC is not an either/or characteristic but that people can have a mix of internal and external.

Learned Helplessness The idea that when people are repeatedly faced with negative situations which they have no control over, they will exhibit similar helplessness in situations where they can change the outcome. Eventually, one comes to believe that the negative stimulus occurs because some personal fault causes it. Motivation is absent when a similar situation arises in the future. Self Efficacy is the belief that ones abilities are sufficient to get the job done. A lack of this belief is what leads to learned helplessness.

Social Learning Theory Much of the work of John Watson and B.F. Skinner is acknowledged in Bandura's theory of personality, although there are substantial differences. Skinner believed that personality is simply a set of responses conditioned by the environment. Watson believed that an infant could be conditioned to become anything he wished. Bandura maintained that cognition plays a huge role in personality, and that although the environment and outside forces may shape personality, an individuals personality can shape the environment. Also, the greatest factors in shaping personality are not rewards and punishments, but other people.

Social Learning Theory Bandura came about with the idea of Reciprocal Determinism, which is the idea that the environment, personality, and cognition all affect each other. This also led him to create the Social Learning Theory. The whole world can be a huge classroom for learning through observation. Simply watching the actions of others, or “models,” can shape behavior because we can see the benefits and downsides they experience. Behaviorists say that learning is evidenced by a permanent change in behavior. Social Learning Theorists refute this, saying that learning does not need to cause a change in behavior.

Social Learning Theory Environmental forces and physical behavior influence multiple behavioral qualities - Thought, Will, Intention, Responsibility, Morality, Imagination, and Creativity.

Walter Mischel An American psychologist who suggested that generalized personality tests were not useful because they did not take the specific situation into account. Mischel disagrees with personality researchers who define behavior as being constant in the same type of situation. He claims that behavior depends more on what the individual thinks of the situation. He found that there was as little as 9% agreement between people’s behavior and their tested personality.

Activity The purpose of our activity was to illustrate that too much control can be as detrimental as too little. One study showed that people choosing among 30 brands of jam and chocolate reported less satisfaction with their choices than those choosing among only half a dozen brands. This excess of options is called tyranny of choice and causes informational overload and a greater likelihood of regret. This is a common problem for Americans today.

Modeling A big part of the Social Learning Theory is that one can learn by observing others. This is called modeling. There are four requirements for modeling to happen. Attention - The person must pay attention to the model. Attention can be reduced by too high or too low levels of arousal or by distractions. Retention - One must be able to retain a behavior. Reproduction - One must be able to physically copy the model’s behavior. Motivation - Motivation is needed to actually push a person to copy a model.

Self Regulation High Self Esteem - You find yourself meeting your standards and loaded with self-praise. Low Self Esteem - You may feel like you are forever failing to meet your standards and punish yourself. Bandura named three effects of excessive self-punishment: a. Compensation - a superiority complex. b. Inactivity - boredom, depression. c. Escape - drugs and alcohol, television fantasies, or even suicide.

Self Regulation 1.  Self-observation. Recognition of ourselves, our behavior, and reflecting on it. 2.  Judgment. We compare what we see with a standard, or we can compete with others or ourselves. 3.  Self-response. If you did well in comparison with your standard, you give yourself rewarding self-responses.  If you did poorly, you give yourself punishing self-responses.   Recommendations to those who suffer from poor self-concepts: Know thyself!  Make sure you have an accurate picture of your behavior. Make sure your standards are realistic.  Don’t set yourself up for failure.  Standards that are too low aren’t really fulfilling either. Use self-rewards, not self-punishments. Celebrate your successes.