CHAPTER 12 Flashcards
Origins of social-cognitive theory and what it emphasizes now?
Social-Cognitive theory has it’s origins in “behavioural-” or “social-learning”
now “social–cognitive” to emphasize:
(1) cognitive processes in analyses of personality
and (2) the social context (situation)
We learn and acquire our own thoughts about ourselves (and others) through interaction with the environment
For the social-cognitive psychologist: psychodynamic approaches are:
Psychodynamic approaches overemphasise the unconscious
Instead: SC recognise “cognitive unconscious” but believe conscious processes are of greater importance
For the social-cognitive psychologist: trait theories are:
Opposed to trait theories nomothetic nature
Instead SC More important to study the variability in one’s actions (rather than an overall pattern)
e.g. if we are extroverted – in which situation are we not extroverted (and why)?
For the social-cognitive psychologist: behaviourism are:
Behaviourism too focused on the external (stimuli) environments’ behavioural effect on people
instead SC Behaviours don’t occur in a vacuum of cause and effect, our perception of the situation is what is more important to understand
Note the nod to phenomenology and the meaning of objects, people, situations and cognitions
Who are the two main figures of the SC approach?
Walter Mischel & Albert Bandura
Albert Bendura:
> David Starr Jordan Professor Emeritus of Social Science in Psychology at Stanford University
> Over a career spanning almost six decades, Bandura has been responsible for groundbreaking contributions to many fields of psychology
> was influential in the transition between behaviorism and cognitive psychology
> A 2002 survey ranked Bandura as the fourth most-cited psychologist of all time, behind B.F. Skinner, Sigmund Freud, and Jean Piaget
What is Bendura known for?
> He is known as the originator of:
- social learning theory
theory of self-efficacy
the influential 1961 Bobo Doll experiment (i.e., observational learning)
Walter Mischel (1930 – 2018)
Mischel was born in Vienna, Austria, a “stone’s throw from where Freud grew-up”
He grew up in Brooklyn, New York and studied under George Kelly and Julian Rotter
In 1968, Mischel published, Personality and Assessment
Mischel showed that an individual’s behavior, when closely examined, was highly dependent upon situational cues
Mischel proposed what?
Mischel proposed that by including the situation (as it is perceived by the person) a person’s personality (the consistencies that characterize the individual) can be examined
> “if-then” situation-behavior leading to psychologically meaningful “personality signatures”
> e.g., “she does A when X, but B when Y”
SCT’s view of the person- three essential qualities:
> Persons are beings that can reason about the world using language
> Persons can reason about the present, past and future (abstraction – learn & predict)
> The reasoning commonly involves reflection on the self (introspection, meta-cognition)
SCT’s science of personality
> SCT tries to use all aspects of psychology and utilise all significant advancements
> Patchwork of developmental, neuroscientific, cultural, cognitive, social, etc. psychologies
> Uses both nomothetic and idiographic
> Pragmatic – utility in its application
SCT Competencies & Skills
Differences and variations between and within people due to competency or skill on a task
e.g. a person may appear introverted because they lack social skills/competency
Competencies involve both thinking about (cognitive) the task and executing (behavioural)
What is declarative knowledge?
Knowledge we can express in words
e.g. the names of all provinces and capital cities
What is procedural (tactic) knowledge?
Cognitive and behavioural capacities that we cant articulate the exact nature of
e.g. walking, riding a bike, smiling…
e.g. but mental too… “gut-feeling” – how was this acquired? (e.g., 5% consciousness)
Competencies are:
Competencies are context specific and can be changed or acquired (!!!)
because they are based on our beliefs, standards and goals…
What are the three ways people think about and interact with the world?
1) Beliefs (e.g., “expectancies”)
> Beliefs about what the world is actually like
> Primary determinant of our actions
> A system of thoughts about the future that can vary across situations
> e.g. expect certain outcomes, rewards or punishments based on our behaviour
> We organise beliefs idiosyncratically by situation – ‘at home’, ‘at school’, ‘with friends’
2) Evaluative Standards (e.g., “standards”)
Beliefs about what the world should be like
3) Goals
Beliefs about what we can attain in the world
What is the major factor in SCT?
The major factor in SCT is our beliefs about our Self and our expectations of our abilities and performance
i.e., Perceived self-efficacy:
our perceptions (not necessarily accurate) of our own capabilities for actions in future situations
Why is self-efficacy so important?
Self-efficacy influences a number of important behavioural aspects important for achievement
1) Decisions – Decide to attempt difficult tasks
2) Persistence – Persist in your efforts
3) Affect – remain calm rather than anxious
4) Analytical thoughts – keep your thoughts organised and on task
How does self-efficacy differ from self-esteem?
(1) Self-efficacy differs from self-esteem
Self-esteem is an ‘overall’ global affect
Self-efficacy is determined by the situation
It is a judgment of what we think we can do in that situation / or goal, task, etc
Self-Efficacy Expectations (SEE) differ from Outcome Expectations (OE)- how?
Outcome expectations (OE) are beliefs about the rewards (or punishments) that will occur given a behaviour
Self-Efficacy Expectations (SEE) are beliefs of whether or not you can even perform the behaviour
e.g. being an NHL player (OE high; SEE low)
Self-efficacy expectations (SEE) predict the behaviour we will engage in more so than OE
Hence, I’m a professor, not an NHL player
Self-efficacy and Performance
> Do Self-Efficacy Expectations (SEE) causally influence behaviour?
One can ‘anchor’ SEE with cognitive manipulations and observe the result on behaviour
> Your perception of your self-efficacy (performance or ability on a task) can also be manipulated
> Our actions and outcomes are highly influenced by our self-perceptions
We do what we think we can do and we don’t do what we think we can’t
Generally research has shown that people with HIGH self-efficacy (e.g. high belief in themselves and their abilities) will differ from LOW self-efficacy person’s in the following ways:
(1) Selection
select more difficult and challenging tasks
(2) Effort, Persistence & Performance
show greater effort and persistence on task (don’t give up so easily)
(3) Emotion
approach task with less anxiety
(4) Coping
better at (emotional) coping with disappointments, setbacks and stress
What is a goal:
> A goal is a mental representation of the aim of an action or course of actions
> Goals motivate us, help us select and make decisions that go beyond momentary influences
How are goals organized?
Goals can be organised as hierarchical, time-related and varying focus
