Cognitive, Social Learning
and CAPS
George Kelly
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Personal Constructs
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Constructive Alternativism
Convenience
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Heirarchy of constructs
Rotter
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The “psychological situation”
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Behavior Potential BP= f( E + RV )
Expectancies
Reinforcement Value
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Locus of Control
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Bandura
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Observational learning
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Self-regulation
Self-efficacy
Reciprocal interactionism
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Self-regulation
Reinforcement has no direct effects
(cognitively mediated or even vicarious)
Self-reinforcement is as important as external
(internalized standards and processes of reward
and punishment)
***Self-regulation overcomes stimulus control
Self-efficacy
2 types of expectancies
Outcome expectancy
Self-efficacy
 SE determines:
behavior to be performed
amount of effort expended
persistence in the face of adversity, etc.
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Reciprocal interactionism
or Reciprocal Determinism
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selecting environments
creating environments
transforming environments
Mischel and CAPS theory
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basic principles, concepts, assumptions:
focus on P X S interaction
 include and integrate
Cognitive, Emotional, Motivational, Biological
& Environmental factors

Mischel and CAPS theory
CAUs ( person variables)
1. Encodings (cognitive constructions)
2. Expectancies ( “if-then” behavior-outcome,
self-efficacy)
3. Affects
4. Goals and Values
5. Competencies and Self-regulation
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Mischel cont.
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Personality coherence
individual differences in the “chronic
accessibility” of CAUs
***consistency of variability across situations
Shoda, Mischel & Wright
Summer camp study
When “psychological situation” varied, aggressive
behavior varied in predictable ways in similar
situations.
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e.g., when teased by peers, when approached by adults, etc.
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situation-behavior “signatures”
Mischel cont.

Relative impact of person variables and
situation variables (when does which take
precedent?)
greater ambiguity and “response freedom”
greater influence of person variables (indiv. diff.)
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The self
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I & me
Self-schemas (Markus, etc.)
readily accessible schema
Multiple selves: (Markus, Higgins, etc.)
Self-discrepancies (Higgins: Actual, Ideal,
Ought)
Causal Attributions
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Learned Helplessness
Pessimism and Optimism
Optimists are healthier, happier, and live longer