Chapter 12 Social Cognitive Theory: Bandura and Mischel

Question 1

Acquisition

Answer 1

The learning of new behaviours viewed by Bandura as independent of reward and contrasted with performance - which is seen as dependent on reward.

Question 2

Behavioural signatures

Answer 2

Individually distinctive profiles of situation-behaviour relationships.

Question 3

Cognitive-affective processing system (CAPS)

Answer 3

A theoretical framework developed by Mischel and colleagues in which personality is understood as: -containing a large set of highly interconnected cognitive and emotional processes
-the interconnections cause personality to function in an integrated, coherent way or as a system.

Question 4

Competencies

Answer 4

A structural unit in social-cognitive theory reflecting the individual’s ability to solve problems or perform tasks to achieve goals.

Question 5

Context specificity

Answer 5

The idea that a given personality variable may come into play in some settings or contexts but not others, with the result that a person’s behaviour may vary systematically across contexts.

Question 6

Delay of gratification

Answer 6

The postponement of pleasure until the optimum or proper time, a concept particularly emphasized in social-cognitive theory in relation to self-regulation.

Question 7

Evaluative standards

Answer 7

• Criteria for evaluating the goodness or worth of a person or thing.
• In social-cognitive theory, people’s standards for evaluating their own actions are seen as being involved in:
• the regulation of behaviour
• and the experience of emotions such as pride, shame, and feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with onself.

Question 8

Expectancies

Answer 8

In social-cognitive theory, what the individual anticipates or predicts will occur as a result of specific behaviours in specific situations (anticipated consequences).

Question 9

Goals

Answer 9

In social-cognitive theory, desired future events that motivate the person over extended periods of time and enable the person to go beyond momentary influences.

Question 10

Microanalytic research

Answer 10

Bandura’s suggested research strategy concerning the concept of self-efficacy in which specific rather than global self-efficacy judgements are recorded.

Question 11

Observational learning (modelling)

Answer 11

Bandura’s concept for the process through which people learn merely by observing the behaviour of others, called models.

Question 12

Perceived self-efficacy

Answer 12

In social-cognitive theory, the perceived ability to cope with specific situations.

Question 13

Performance

Answer 13

• The production of learned behaviours, viewed by Bandura as dependent on rewards
• in contrast with the acquisition of new behaviours, which is seen as independent of reward.

Question 14

Reciprocal determinism

Answer 14

• The mutual, back-and-forth effects of variables on one another
• in social-cognitive theory, a fundamental causal principle in which personal, environmental, and behavioural factors are viewed as causally influencing one another.

Question 15

Self-evaluative reactions

Answer 15

Feelings of dissatisfaction versus satisfaction (pride) in onself as people reflect on their actions.

Question 16

Self-regulation

Answer 16

Psychological processes through which persons motivate their own behaviour.

Question 17

Vicarious conditioning

Answer 17

Bandura’s concept for the process through which emotional responses are learned through the observation of emotional responses in others.

Question 18

What does social‐cognitive theory centre its analyses of personality on?

Answer 18

Social‐cognitive theory centers its analyses of personality on uniquely human cognitive capacities.

Question 19

What are the personality structures emphasized in social‐cognitive theory?

Answer 19

The personality structures emphasized in social‐cognitive theory are:

• Competencies and skills
• Expectancies and beliefs
• Behavioral standards
• Personal goals

Question 20

How does social-cognitive theory address personality processes?

Answer 20

Social‐cognitive theory addresses personality processes in two primary ways.

1. The principle of reciprocal determinism captures the back‐and‐ forth influences between personality and the environment.
2. Personality is construed as a cognitive–affective processing system. Much research on personality processes from a social‐ cognitive perspective has explored the phenomena of observational learning, self‐regulation, and self‐control.

Question 21

What does the social‐cognitive theory analysis of observational learning emphasize?

Answer 21

That people’s knowledge and skills primarily are acquired by observing others.

Question 22

What does the social‐cognitive theory analysis of motivation emphasize?

Answer 22

The social‐cognitive theory analysis of motivation emphasizes the role of people’s thoughts about themselves.

Question 23

What does research on the development of cognitive and behavioral competencies associated with delay in gratification illustrate?

Answer 23

Research on the development of cognitive and behavioral competencies associated with delay in gratification illustrates the social‐cognitive approach to questions of both self‐control and personality development.

Question 24

Who are the theorists who have made primary contributions to the development of the social-cognitive approach?

Answer 24

Two theorists who have made primary contributions to the development of the social‐cognitive approach are Albert Bandura and Walter Mischel.

Question 25

Why is it called social-cognitive?

Answer 25

Thanks to their ability to think about themselves, their past, and their future, individuals are seen to have the capacity to influence their own experiences and development. Since these thinking processes develop through interaction with the social environment, they are called social‐cognitive.

Question 26

What does the social-cognitive theory analysis of motivation include?

Answer 26

The social‐cognitive theory analysis of motivation emphasizes the role of people’s thoughts about themselves.

• Self‐efficacy judgments, or perceptions of one’s capability to execute behaviors are key to motivation
• Self‐efficacy beliefs influence people’s selection of goals, effort and persistence toward achieving the goal, emotions prior to and during task performance, and success in coping with stress and negative events
• In addition, much work examines processes of goal setting and the role that people’s evaluations of their own actions play in goal‐directed motivation.

Question 27

What do the four personality variables (competencies and skills, expectancies and beliefs, behavioral standards, personal goals) refer to?

Answer 27

These four personality variables refer to four distinct classes of cognition; they thus can be seen as distinct subsystems within the overall system of personality.

Question 28

Does behaviour vary across situations from a social-cognitive perspective?

Answer 28

Yes. Any given person may have different skills, beliefs, standards, and goals in different situations. Thus, behavior naturally varies across situations in a meaningful manner that reflects the individual’s personality characteristics.

Question 29

How are standards for self-control learnt?

Answer 29

Standards for self‐ control are learned through the observation of models and through reinforcement.

Question 30

What does the ability to delay gratification involve?

Answer 30

The ability to delay gratification involves the development of cognitive competencies, especially involving the control of attention; people who distract themselves from frustrating situations are better able to control their negative emotions and impulses.

Question 31

Does a person’s capacity to delay gratification change over their life?

Answer 31

Research indicates that individual differences in the capacity to delay gratification are remarkably stable across the course of development.