AP Psychology
Unit X Personality--Social Cognitive Perspective
1.
Albert Bandura proposed the social-cognitive perspective, which emphasizes the interaction of
our traits with our situations.
a. Theorists believe we learn man of our behaviors either through conditioning or by
observing others and modeling our behavior after theirs
b. Theorists believe mental processes play an important part in the process because what
we “think” about our situations affects our behavior
c. The social-cognitive perspective is sometimes considered a cognitive-behavioral
approach to personality, but the perspective goes beyond behaviorism
i. Behaviorists focus on how our environment controls us
ii. Social-cognitive theorists focus on how we and our environment interact
1. Essential questions,
a. “How do we interpret and respond to external events?”
b. “How do our schemas, our memories, and our expectations
influence our behavior patterns?”
2. Reciprocal determinism
a. Reciprocal means two or more parties exchanging something—in this case of our class
we are exchanging information. So, in this theory, thoughts, environment, and
behaviors are interacting, exchanging information about how and why we behave
b. Determinism refers to the inevitable consequences of actions. Consequences are
determined by actions that precede them. So with this theory, our actions are
determined by the interaction of the environment and our thoughts
c. Bandura, via the social-cognitive perspective, proposes that our personalities re shaped
by the interaction of our personal traits (which include our thoughts and feelings), our
environments, and our behaviors
d.
Bandura believes the influences are “mutual”
e.
Consider three specific ways in which individuals and environments interact:
i. Different people choose different environments (e.g., schools we attend, music
we listen to, friends with whom we associate, etc.). The environments we
choose shape us.
ii. Our personalities shape how we interpret and react to events (for example,
anxious people are attuned to threatening events, etc.)
iii. Our personalities help create situations to which we react (e.g., how we view
and treat people in turn influences how they react to us).
a. Sum—we are the products and the architects of our
environments
3. Personal Control
a. Personal control is the extent to which people perceive control over their environment
rather than feeling helpless
i. External locus of control – the perception that chance or outside forces beyond
your personal control determine your fate
1. Externals do not feel they control their destiny, do not enjoy better
health, do less well on tasks without outside affirmations, etc.
2. See Haiku Schindler’s list trailer on concentration camp victims who
have no control
ii. Internal locus of control –the perception that you control your own fate
1. Internals enjoy better health, do well in school, act more independently
and are less depressed
2. Have better “self-control,” which is defined as the ability to control
impulses and delay gratification
3. Practically speaking--Can plan the day, then live out the day as planned
4. Self-control can be
a. Depleted
i. Temporarily weakens after exertion
ii. Exercising willpower can deplete your mental energy and even deplete the
blood sugar and neural activity associated with mental focus
iii. “Stifling” one behaviors plays out in an impulsive response to another behavior
b. Strengthened
i. Replenishes with rest
ii. Becomes stronger with exercise
iii. In the long run, self-control requires attention and energy
5. Benefits of self-control
a. If have a sense of personal control, can avoid the sense of “learned helplessness” (see
Unit 6) and resist the urge to have a resigned view on life
b. Decrease our sense of stress in new environments (visiting foreign countries, being
confined, etc.)
c. Decrease our sense of stress by being a participant in situations we encounter (help plan
family trip, decide class assignments, decide role on team, etc.)
d. See Ellen Langer famous study of nursing home patients who benefited by being given
some personal control over their situations
Source: http://www.ellenlanger.com/information/9/read-chapter-one-ofcounterclockwise
6.
e.
Sum—under conditions of personal freedom and empowerment, people thrive.
f.
“Tyranny of choice concept.” See Myers page 506. It does not follow that everincreasing choice breeds even happier lives, however
Optimism versus Pessimism
a. Optimism and health are highly correlated (may b e a negative as well as positive
correlation; see Myers page 507)
b. Excessive Optimism—any “natural positive thinking bias” can blind us to real risks
c. Blindness to one’s own incompetence—ironically, people are most overconfident when
most incompetent
7. See Martin Seligman insert on Positive Psychology (page 508; Important!)
a. Umbrella term for the study of positive emotions, positive character traits, and enabling
institutions
b. Seligman and others (2005) built the concept on three pillars and focus on “satisfaction
with the past, happiness with the present and optimism about the future.” The pillars
are;
i. Positive emotions—happiness is a by-product of a pleasant, engaged and
meaningful life
ii. Positive character—focuses on exploring and enhancing creativity, courage,
compassion, integrity, self-control, leadership, wisdom and spirituality
iii. Positive groups, communities and cultures—seeks to foster a positive social
ecology including healthy families, communal neighborhoods, effective schools,
socially responsible media, and civil dialogue
8. A word on the way we explain events in our lives
Explanatory Style
Optimist View
Pessimist View
Permanence—events
in life will have a
permanent effect on
us
Bad events are temporary
and good events are
permanent
The effects of bad events
are permanent and the
effects of good events are
transient
Pervasiveness—the
belief that life events
have ripple-effect
impacts on other areas
of life
Good experiences will spill
over into other areas while
bad events are isolated to a
particular circumstance
Bad events impact other
areas, expecting failure in
one area to cause problems
in others
Personal—life events
are due to some
personality trait that is
unchangeable
Good events are personal
while bad events are due to
circumstances
Good events are
circumstantial and bad
events are due to personal
faults
9.
Assessing Behavior in Situations
a. Observations in realistic situations (simulated or actual)
b. See chart below summarizing all methods
AP Psychology
Unit X Personality—Exploring the Self
1.
Chart Presenting Value Contrasts Between Individualism and Collectivism
2. Student Assignment
a. Prepare outline of Myers pages 511 through 517
b. Discuss in class Thursday, February 23rd
c. Optional—take Gordon Allport Values Survey at
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/allport.html