Social Cognitive View Integrates Social Learning and Cognitive Theories Reciprocal determinism Self-regulation Expectancy values & self-efficacy

Reciprocal Determinism Behaviorism Environment Person Social learning theory Person Environment-1 Environment-2 Environment-3 Person Environment

Self-Regulation Delay of gratification Emotion regulation Limitations of self-regulation

Delay of gratification Children are given the choice: –Small reward now –Large reward later How long can children can wait? What strategies are used?

Delay of Gratification as Predictor Delay of gratification at age four can predict competence in adolescence: –social competence –cognitive competence –scholastic achievement (SAT) –coping with frustration What is DOG based on? –Impulse inhibition? –General intelligence?

Strategies for Delay of Gratification Waiting is easy if... … reward is hidden … you think distracting thoughts … you think of physical aspects of non-reward (think of a pretzel while waiting for a cookie) … you see only a picture of the reward: –Waiting is easy if real reward is imagined as picture –Waiting is difficult if picture is imagined as real Regulation of Attention seems to be central!

Emotion Regulation Definition: Any process that increases, decreases or modifies emotions Relevant for any aspect of emotion ­Experience ­Behavior ­Physiology Can be conscious or unconscious.

Possible points of regulation: 1.Situation selection 2.Situation modification 3.Attention direction 4.Cognitions / attributions 5.Modulating responses –Experience –Behavior –Physiology

Comparison Between Strategies for Emotion Regulation (Gross) Suppression 1.reducing expressive behavior: 2.“control your expression so that nobody could tell what you are feeling” Reappraisal 1.cognitive reframing 2.“think about the situation in a way that reduces the emotion”

Success of Different Strategies Both strategies reduce expressive behavior Reappraisal reduces the experience of negative emotion Suppression increases physiological responding

Limitations of Self-Regulation Baumeister: “Strength” model of self-regulation Self-regulation requires effort Capacity for self-regulation is a limited resource High demands on self-regulation will be followed by a period of reduced capacity

Evidence for the “Strength” model of self-regulation: Regulating emotional response to an upsetting film resulted in reduced hand-grip strength afterward Trying to ‘not think about a white bear” led to: –reduced persistence at solving anagrams afterward –poorer suppression of amusement during a funny film afterwards