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The Social Cognitive perspective and Albert Bandura
For more information on Albert Bandura and the Social Cognitive Perspective, see Chapter 5: Learning and Chapter 8: Motivation and Emotion.
- Social cognitive theory emphasizes the social origin of thinking and behavior as well as active cognitive processes (unlike the psychoanalysts). Our sense of self can vary depending on our thoughts, feelings and behaviors in a given situation (context).
- It emphasizes conscious self-regulated behavior, rather than unconscious motives and drives. The person is an active participant in their environment. People do not simply react to the social environment, but they actively create their own environment and acts to change them. Thinking, the environment, and behavior all interact; each can only be understood relative to each other.
- Based on beliefs we have, we act a certain way and chose to act in certain social environments. Personality is shaped by through reciprocal determinism. Our social environment affects our thoughts and actions, our thoughts and actions affect the social environment we choose, our actions influences our thoughts and social environment we choose…
Reciprocal Determinism
For example: Playing basketball (a behavior) leads to thinking about basketball, which in turn may lead to playing basketball. Seeing a basketball (in the environment) leads to thinking about basketball, which in turn increases the chances of noticing people playing basketball. Playing basketball may lead to environmental rewards, which in turn reinforce basketball playing. All three elements—behavior, thought, and environment—take turns influencing or being influenced by each other.
Cognitive factor I don’t think I can learn to play a musical instrument
Behavior factor I don’t play any musical instruments.
Environmental factor I avoid situations that require me to display my lack of musical talent.
Strengths and Contributions of the Social Cognitive Perspective
- The understanding human behavior comes from insights based on experimental findings, not clinical observations such as with the Freudians and Humanists. The social cognitive approach is based on good scientific data that can predict behavior—people who’s self-efficacy was raised were more likely to find a job after being laid off. Clinical observations have difficulties predicting behavior.
Weaknesses and Problems of the Social Cognitive Perspective
- Some researchers claim that social cognitive perspective describes people better in artificial situation of the laboratory and not in the complex real world, where real external factors are constrained.
- The social cognitive perspective ignores the unconscious influences of our emotions, subjective experience, internal conflicts we may have and genetic and biological issues. This perspective focuses only on a limited aspect of personality and not the whole person and the context in which they live.
The Trait perspective of personality
There are relatively stable, enduring predispositions to consistently behave in a certain way. The trait approach to personality focuses primarily on individual differences.
- Raymond Cattell (16 personality factors)
- Hans Eysenck (3 dimensions of personality) o Extraversion / Introversion o Neurotic / Stable o Psychoticism
- The Five Factor Model (5 dimensions of personality) o O penness to experience o C onscientiousness o E xtraversion o A greeableness o N euroticism
Eysenck contends that individual differences arise from biological differences. Introverts require less cortical stimulation and arousal than extroverts to operate efficiently and perform at optimal levels (also see arousal motivation in Chapter 8: Motivation and Emotion).
- For example, introverts tend to need less barbeque sauce to like a hamburger,
- more sensitive to lemon juice,
- like a lower volume of music to feel comfortable, etc.
- Interestingly, when assigned to a task, extraverts perform at an initial high level and gradually declines. Introverts will perform at a consistently at a moderate level.
Sample items from Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire
Extraversion
- Do you like mixing with people?
- Do you like going out a lot?
- Would you call yourself happy-go-lucky?
Neuroticism
- Does your mood often go up and down?
- Do you often feel “fed-up”?
- Are you an irritable person?
Psychoticism
- Do you enjoy cooperating with others?
- Do you try not to be rude to people?
- Do good manners and cleanliness matter to you?
The Five Factor Model of Personality
Factor Low High
O penness to down-to-earth^ imaginative
Experience conventional, uncreative
original, creative
prefers routine prefers variety
C onscientiousness lazy^ hardworking
aimless ambitious quitting persevering
E xtraversion reserved^ affectionate
loner joiner quiet talkative
A greeableness antagonistic^ acquiescent
ruthless softhearted suspicious trusting
N euroticism calm^ worrying
even tempered, unemotional
temperamental, emotional hardy vulnerable
Strengths and Contributions of the Trait Perspective
- Several independent researchers find similar results (the five factors OCEAN) in their factor analysis, and the five factors reliably appear across a wide range of cultures.
- Traits are relatively stable over time.
Weaknesses of the Trait Perspective
- Trait theories don't really explain personality. They simply label general predisposition.
- Trait theories don't attempt to explain how or why individual differences develop.
- Trait approaches fail to address basic motives that drive people and the role of unconscious thought processes, beliefs about the self or how people develop over the lifespan.
- Traits are poor predictors of behavior in specific situations. However, it tends to predict how the person will behave “on the average”. Supporters of the trait perspective argue that personality traits have a stronger influence in situations that are less socially structured, more familiar, informal or private.
The Major Ego Defense Mechanisms
Defense Mechanism Explanation Example
Repression Unacceptable or unpleasant impulses are pushed back into the unconscious
A woman is unable to recall that she was raped
Displacement The expression of an unwanted feeling or thought is redirected from a more threatening, powerful person to a weaker one
A brother yells at his younger sister after a teacher gives him a bad grade
Sublimation Diversion of unwanted impulses into socially approved thoughts, feelings, or behaviors
A person with strong feelings of aggression becomes a soldier
Rationalization A distortion of reality in which a person justifies what happens (also known as sour grapes)
A person who is passed over for an award says she didn’t really want it in the first place
Projection Attributing unwanted impulses and feelings to someone else
A man who is angry at his father acts lovingly to his father but complains that his father is angry with him
Reaction Formation Thinking or behaving in a way that is the extreme opposite of unacceptable urges or impulses
Threatened by their awakening sexual attraction to girls, adolescent boys often go out of their way to tease and torment adolescent girls
Denial Refusal to accept or acknowledge an anxiety- producing piece of information
A person who is convicted for DUI three times this year denies that he has a problem with alcohol.
Undoing A form of unconscious repentance that involves neutralizing or atoning for an unacceptable action or thought with a second action or thought
A woman who gets a tax refund by cheating on her taxes makes a larger than usual donation to the church collection on the following Sunday
Regression People behave as if they were at an earlier stage of development
A boss has a temper tantrum when an employee makes a mistake
What are examples of behaviors/experiences that are inconsistent with your self-concept that can cause one to use a defense mechanism (and which one)?
