Problem 3: Rogers and Bandura

Question 1

what approaches does rogers follow

Answer 1

Phenomenology: the study of human experience; an approach to personality theory that focuses on how the person perceives and experiences the self and the world.
Humanistic perspective: move away from instincts and learning processes that humans seem to have in common with animals focus on psychological growth, free will and personal awareness. Behaviors are explained by our desire to grow and improve:

Question 2

What are the 3 aspects of rogers view of the person?

Answer 2

1. subjectivity of experience / subjective construction (how a person sees the world)
2. feelings of authenticity
3. positivity of human motivation

Question 3

What does Rogers say about the first aspect: subjectivity of experience?

Answer 3

“I do not react to some absolute reality, but to my perception of this reality”
The “reality” we observe is really a “private world of experience: the phenomenal field”
the phenomenal field: the space of perceptions that makes up our experience – a subjective construction

The individual constructs this inner world of experience, and the construction reflects not only the outer world of reality but also the inner world of personal needs, goals, and beliefs. → Inner psychological needs shape the subjective experiences that we interpret as objectively real.

ex: someone detects a disappointed look from a dating partner
reality experienced: emotion: disappointment
inner need: to be attractive to dating partner → contributes to perceiving partners look as a disappointment

“the individual perceives his experience as reality. his experience is his reality” – Rogers
Yet our seeing is not an objective recording of the world of reality but a subjective construction that reflects our personal needs.

Question 4

What does Rogers say about the second aspect: feelings of authenticity?

Answer 4

people are prone to a distinctive form of psychological distress → feeling of alienation or detachment: that one’s experiences and daily activities do not stem from one’s authentic self.

because we need the approval of others we tell ourselves that their desires and values are our own. → when this happens the individual thinks but does not feel an attachment to his or her own values

ex: The adult tries to convince herself that it is good to settle down into a traditional career and family lifestyle, as valued relatives instruct, even though she prefers a life of independence.

individuals who openly experience the full range of their emotions, who are “accepting and assimilating [of] all the sensory evidence experienced by the organism” are psychologically well adjusted.

Question 5

What does Rogers say about the third aspect: the positivity of human motivation?

Answer 5

Rogers’s clinical experiences showed him that the core of our nature is essentially positive. Our most fundamental motivation is toward positive growth.

he recognised that people can and often act in evil and destructive ways (Freud), but his basic contention was that when we are functioning freely we are able to move towards our potential as positive and mature human beings.

“I do not have a Pollyanna view of human nature . . . individuals can and do behave in ways which are incredibly . . . [yet I] work with such individuals . . . to discover the strongly positive directional tendencies which exist in them.”

Question 6

what is the structure of Rogers’s theory of personality?

Answer 6

The self:

one of the things that fill our conscious experience is our experience of ourselves, or of “a self.”

the individual perceives external objects and experiences and attaches meanings to them. – the total system of perceptions and meanings make up the individual’s phenomenal field.

the self is a subset of the phenomenological field that is recognised by individuals as “me” or “I” – it represents an organized and consistent pattern of perceptions.

Although the self changes, it always retains this patterned, integrated, organized quality. Because the organized quality endures over time and characterizes the individual, the self is a personality structure.

The self does not independently control behaviour, rather, the self is an organized set of perceptions possessed by the individual, who is ultimately responsible for his or her actions. (it is not a “little person inside of us”)

self-concept is primarily conscious.

2 aspects of the self (2 views of ourselves):
1. actual self: themselves in the present (who you really are right now)
2. ideal self: their potential selves in the future.

Question 7

how can we measure the self-concept? (2 ways)

Answer 7

1. Q sort technique
2. semantic differential

Question 8

what is the procedure of the Q sort technique?

Answer 8

Procedure:

1. the psychologist gives the test-taker a set of cards, each of which contains a statement describing a personality characteristic:
   “makes friends easily”, “has trouble expressing anger”, …
2. test-takers sort these cards according to the degree to which each statement is seen as descriptive of themselves.
   on a scale labelled Most characteristic of me on one end and Least characteristic of me on the other.
3. people are asked to sort the cards according to a forced distribution, with most of the cards going in the middle and relatively few being sorted at either extreme end → this ensures that the individual carefully considers the content of each personality attribute in comparison to the others.

Question 9

What is the procedure of the semantic differential?

Answer 9

the individual rates a concept on a number of seven-point scales defined by polar adjectives such as good–bad, strong–weak, or active–passive.

ex: consider rating the concepts “My Self” and “My College” on scales such as liberal-conservative, scholarly–fun loving, and formal–informal. To what extent do you see yourself and your college as similar? How does this relate to your satisfaction as a student at this college? Research indicates that students who view themselves as dissimilar from their college environment are more likely to become dissatisfied with college life and to drop out (Pervin, 1967a, 1967b).

Question 10

A classic illustration of how the semantic differential can be employed involves a case of multiple personality. describe this study:

Answer 10

This was the case of a woman who possessed three personalities, each of which predominated for a period of time, with frequent shifts back and forth.
The three personalities were called
Eve White
Eve Black
Jane.

Procedure:
As part of a research endeavor, the psychiatrists were able to have each of the three personalities rate a variety of concepts on the semantic differential. The ratings were then analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively by two psychologists (C. Osgood and Z. Luria) who did not know the subject.

Results:
Their analysis included both descriptive comments and interpretations of the personalities that went beyond the objective data.
ex:
- Eve White was described as being in contact with social reality but under great emotional stress,
- Eve Black was described as out of contact with social reality but quite self-assured
- and Jane was described as superficially very healthy but quite restricted and undiversified.

Question 11

What is the personality process of Rogers’s model?

Answer 11

Rogers did not think that behavior was primarily determined by animalistic drive states, as did Freud. instead, the most fundamental personality process is a forward-looking tendency toward personality growth. a tendency toward self-actualization.

Rogers proposed that people are motivated toward self-actualization – a motive toward personal growth, independence and freedom of expression

Question 12

What does self-actualization involve? what are characteristics of self-actualisers?

Answer 12

Characteristics of self-actualisers
- Feeling of development
- Opening to new experiences

Question 13

what is self consistency? (provide example)

Answer 13

your traits are consistent with one another (if you are honet you are also trustworthy and loyal)

the organism does not seek to gain pleasure and to avoid pain but, instead, seeks to maintain its own self-structure.

The individual develops a value system, the center of which is the individual’s valuation of the self. Individuals organize their values and functions to preserve the self-system. Individuals behave in ways that are consistent with their self-concept, even if this behavior is otherwise unrewarding to them.

Ex: If you, for example, see yourself as a poor speller, you may try to behave in a manner consistent with this self-perception.

Question 14

What is congruence? (provide example)

Answer 14

ex: if you are honest you dont lie

agreement between the self-image and experience, if no agreement than incongruity happens

Rogers emphasized the importance to personality functioning of congruence between the self and experience, that is, between what people feel and how they view themselves.

Ex: if you view yourself as a kind person who expresses empathy toward others but have an experience in which you think you were cold and unempathic, you confront an incongruence between your sense of self and your experience. If you think of yourself as a quiet person but suddenly find yourself acting in a highly outgoing manner (e.g., at a party), you may experience a distressing sense of having acted in a way that is “not me”.

well-adjusted personality → individual holding similar views of the ideal self, actual self and true self

Question 15

what is the difference between self-consistency and congruence?

Answer 15

self consistency: more internal, you are honest you consider yourself reliable, trustworthy

congruence: more external if you consider yourself honest and then you lie you experience incongruence

Question 16

what is a state of incongruence?

Answer 16

maladjusted personality –> disharmony between ideal self, actual self and true self (someone who thinks he never hates, but suddenly hates someone).

Question 17

What happens when people experience an incongruence between self and experience that suggests a basic inconsistency in the self?

Answer 17

Rogers posits that

anxiety is the result of a discrepancy between experience and the perception of the self.
Once this happens, the person will be motivated to defend the self; he or she will engage in defensive processes.

Question 18

How do Rogers’s defensive processes relate to Freud’s?

Answer 18

In this regard, Rogers’s work is similar to Freud’s. To Rogers, however, defensive processes are not centered on a defense against recognition of basic biological impulses in the id. They involve defense against a loss of a consistent, integrated sense of self.

Question 19

What are the 4 defensive processes?

Answer 19

4 defensive processes are:

subception - being aware of an experience that is discrepant with the self concept before it reaches consciousness
- The response to the threat presented by recognition of experiences that are in conflict with the self is that of defense. Thus, we react defensively and attempt to deny awareness to experiences that are dimly perceived to be incongruent with the self-structure.

distortion - changing the meaning of the perceived experience
- Distortion, a more common phenomenon, allows the experience into awareness but in a form that makes it consistent with the self: “Thus, if the concept of self includes the characteristic ‘I am a poor student’, the experience of receiving a high grade can be easily distorted to make it congruent with the self by perceiving in it such meanings as, ‘That professor is a fool’; ‘It was just luck’”

denial - refusing the existence of the experience.
- Denial serves to preserve the self-structure from threat by denying it conscious expression.

avoidance - making sure to not get into a situation that would question your congruence

Question 20

According to Rogers what is the psychological need that everyone possesses?

Answer 20

need for positive regard: people need to be accepted and respected by others

Question 21

2 types of positive regard

Answer 21

unconditional positive regard - affection regardless, without any conditions (ex: parents)

conditional positive regard - affection under certain conditions (ex. group project and someone doesnt contribute → he/she is not liked)

Question 22

2 types of conditions within conditional positive regard

Answer 22

conditions of worth: individual is only considered to be worthy of positive regard if she/he has some thoughts and feelings but not others

conditions self-regard - conditions of worth from the inside, affection towards yourself, self-acceptance

Question 23

What is Rogers’s approach to therapy and how does it work?

Answer 23

client-centered therapy:

therapist needs to provide 3 conditions for therapeutic change to occur :

1. congruence (genuiness)
   display to clients true thoughts and feelings (even negative ones)
   does not show formal and medical façade but is interpersonally open and transparent
2. unconditional positive regard
   therapist communicates a deep and genuine caring for the client as a person
   this enables clients to explore their inner self with confidence
3. empathetic understanding
   ability to perceive the client’s experiences as they are experienced by the client
   the therapist does not intellectually detach himself from the encounter to provide technical diagnosis, but instead through active listening, undestand the meaning and subjective feeling of the events experienced by the client

theory has “If-then” quality: If certain therapeutic conditions exist, then processes inherently will occur that lead to personality change.

rogers saw :
client and counsellor vs patient and therapist (Freud)
inspiring mental wellness vs treating mental illness (Freud)

Question 24

What are the Criticism/Limitations of rogers’s perspective?

Answer 24

Lacks precision; hard to generate research from the theories - more descriptive than explanatory

Optimistic, positive view of human nature is arbitrary, naïve and sentimental

Not inclusive towards unhealthy people

Self-actualisation; everyone would live life regardless of the consequences

Question 25

What are the Strengths of rogers's perspective?

Answer 25

takes into account your experiences (subjective perceptions of the client) focus on the positivity and goodness of humanity the core value and beliefs are understandable and can change people’s lives for the better benefits which carry over into many other professions, such as criminology, history adn literature.

Question 26

What are the differences between Freud's theory of personality and Rogers's?

Answer 26

Rogers’s conception differs from Freud's. Freud: visceral reactions were animalistic impulses that needed to be curbed by the civilized ego and superego. Distorting and denying these impulses was part of normal, healthy personality functioning. patient and therapist relationship treating mental illness controlling behaviour to achieve perfection behaviour was determined and manifested itself as neuroses emphasized cold, systematic analysis and treatment our basic instincts are sexual and aggressive Rogers: Individuals who openly experience the full range of their emotions, who are “accepting and assimilating [of] all the sensory evidence experienced by the organism” are psychologically well adjusted. In Rogers’s view: the conflict between instinctive and rational elements of the mind is not an immutable feature of the human condition – Rather than conflict, people can experience congruence: They can realize a state in which their conscious experiences and goals are consistent with their inner, viscerally felt values. client and conselour relationship inspiring mental wellness liberating free- expression to inspire self-actualization behaviour was accepted and understood as a means towards self-actualization emphasized warm, unconditional, empathic understanding and communication he recognised that people can and often act in evil and destructive ways, but his basic contention was that when we are functioning freely we are able to move towards our potential as positive and mature human beings.

Question 27

What is Bandura's theory?

Answer 27

Social-cognitive theory

Question 28

What does Social-cognitive theory emphasize?

Answer 28

people as active agents with self-control (not subjects to the environment) reciprocal determinism: behaviour, environment and personality work together social origins of behavior cognitive (thought) processes both average behavioral tendencies and variability in behavior the learning of complex patterns of behavior in the absence of rewards

Question 29

3 psychological qualities of people are unique:

Answer 29

(1) reason about the world using language (2) contemplate not only present circumstances but also past and hypothetical future events (3) reflect on themselves, thinking about themselves and their own thinking.

Question 30

What are the structures within this theory?

Answer 30

competencies and skills expectancies and beliefs evaluative/behavioural standards personal goals

Question 31

what are competencies and skills in the theory? what are the 2 types? what are the 2 implications?

Answer 31

The core insight of the theory is that differences between people we observe may not be caused only by differences in emotions or motivational impulses, as other theories have emphasized Instead, the differences may reflect variations in people’s skill in executing different types of action. Some people may, for example, act in an introverted manner because they lack the social skills that are required to execute socially effective extraverted acts. 2 types 1. declarative knowledge (knowledge that can be put into words) 2. procedural (cognitive and behavioural capacities that a person may have without being able to articulate the exact nature of those capacities) 2 implications: 1.context specificity different contexts present different challenges that require different competencies. A person who is competent in one context may not be competent in another. 2. psychological change competencies are acquired through social interaction and observation of the social world. People who lack skills in a particular area of life can change. They can engage in new interactions and new observations of the world and thereby acquire new competencies. The ideas of social-cognitive theory there- fore can be applied directly to clinical applications that are designed to boost people’s life skills.

Question 32

expectancies and beliefs?

Answer 32

One set of thoughts involves beliefs about what the world actually is like and what things probably will be like in the future, when the beliefs are directed to the future: expectancies. determinant of our actions and emotions determining these is basic to survival (animals have expectancies) the essence of personality lies in the different ways in which individuals perceive situations, develop expectations about future circumstance anad display distinct behaviour patterns as a result of these differing perceptions and expectations self-efficacy: your belief in your own ability , how well you can do something, the base of your self-esteem Bandura refers to people’s expectations about their own capabilities for performance are the key ingredient for well-being – these are referred as perceptions of self-efficacy perceived self-efficacy: people’s perceptions of their own capabilities for action in future situations high vs low sense of self-efficacy: believe more vs less in their capabilities high ability does not always imply self-efficacy (Adele) Self-efficacy judgments 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

Question 33

goals

Answer 33

thoughts about what one wants to achieve in the future. These thoughts are called personal goals. they are organised in a hierarchical system (some are more central or important than others) goal may vary in - level of challenge, difficulty - nearness or proximity (time): proximal goal or distal goal - the subjective meaning of an activity - goal of a task differs among people (ex: learn or perform well to others) people with higher self-efficacy set higher goals and remain more committed to them goals influence expectancies (receiving feedback)

Question 34

evaluative/behavioural standards

Answer 34

thoughts about what things should be like. These thoughts are evaluative standards, that is, mental criteria (or standards) for evaluating the goodness or worth of events. judging own behaviour → self-evaluative reactions: we evaluate our own actions and then respond in an emotionally satisfied or dissatisfied way toward ourselves as a result of this self-evaluation

Question 35

how do these 4 aspects relate to people's personalities?

Answer 35

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 36

what are the personality processes within this theory?

Answer 36

1. principle of reciprocal determinism 2. personality as a cognitive-affective processing system (CAPS)

Question 37

what is reciprocal determinism?

Answer 37

personality is shaped by the way in which behaviour, environment, and personality factors interact and influence each other these factors are reciprocal determinants

Question 38

how does personality work as a cognitive-affective processing system (CAPS)?

Answer 38

3 essential features: cognitive nad emotional variables are seen as being complexly linked to one another (goals, skills, expectations…) different aspects of social situations or “situational features” activate subsets of the overall personality system (talking about dates → activates expectancies about dates) if dif situational features activate dif parts of the overall personality system then people’s behaviour should vary from one situation to another (dif patterns of emotion and action are produced)

Question 39

2 psychological functions

Answer 39

1. acquiring new knowledge particularly through processes of observational learning 2. exerting control over, or self-regulating, one’s own actions and emotional experiences

Question 40

what is observational learning?

Answer 40

people can learn merely by observing the behaviours of others. the person being observed is called a model and the process is called modelling ex: child learns to speak by observing the parents; people learn what behaviours are acceptable or unacceptable in dif social settings by observing the behaviours of others

Question 41

4 variables that influence observational learning and performance:

Answer 41

1. Attention for encoding: observer must pay attention to right aspect of the model’s behaviour Observational learning will work better with some models than with others (e.g. attractive models attract attention) Observer’s capabilities and concentration matter 2. Retention: what’s been observed has to be represented in memory (note: makes this a cognitive and social way of learning). \ 2 strategies for coding: Imaginal coding: creating mental images of what you’re observing Verbal coding: creating description of what you’re observing 3.Production: translate observations in a form you can produce in your own behaviour Easier if you already have some skills/knowledge for the action 4.Acquisition vs performance: there must be a distinction; people learn a lot, but do not always perform these things. Thus, learning can occur without a change in behaviour. To know whether the person will perform the behaviour, we must know what the person expects of the outcomes of the behaviour. → a new complex pattern of behaviour can be learned or acquired regardless of reinforcers but wether or not the behaviour is performed will depend on rewards and punishments.

Question 42

4 ways of observational learning

Answer 42

modelling: learn general rules of behaviour by observing others immitation: exact replication of a narrow response pattern (in the moment, something simple, ex: waving back to parent) identification: incorporation of broad patters of behaviour exhibited by a specific other individual. (ex: replicating behaviour after seeing mom doing it in the past continuously) vicarious conditiong: the process of learning (emotional) reactions through observing consequences to a model affects performance but not acquisition people who observed a model expressing conditioned fear response were found to develop a vicariously conditioned emotional response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Question 43

what is self-regulation (+ 3 steps)

Answer 43

people have capacity to set goals, plan strategies, modify their behaviour self-reinforcement: essential facet of self-regulation in that individuals regulate their behvaiour by making self-rewards contingent on self-prescribed standards of performance. 3 steps: self-observation, judgements, self-response

Question 44

self-control and self-gratification

Answer 44

self-control - ability to control impulsive reactions and give in temptations, because in the long run its better if you don’t give into them. delay in gratification: when the case of self-control involves putting off something good (resistance to temptation) in the present to attain something better in the future (gratification) children exposed to models who set high standards of perfromenace for self-reward tend to limit their own self-rewards to exceptional performance more than children with models with low standards or with no models at all. Standards for self-control are learned through the observation of models and through reinforcement. 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. Research also indicates that individual differences in the capacity to delay gratification are remarkably stable across the course of development.

Question 45

what is Mischel's marshmallow experiment

Answer 45

an adult who is interacting with a young child (usually one of preschool age) informs the child that she needs to leave the child alone for a few minutes. Before leaving, the adult teaches the child a game. The game involves two different rewards. If the child can wait patiently until the adult comes back, she gets a large reward (e.g., a few marshmallows). If the child simply cannot wait for the adult to return, the child can ring a bell and the adult will return immediately; however, if this happens, the child earns only a smaller reward (e.g., one marshmallow). The child, then, can earn the larger reward only by delaying gratification. The dependent measure is how long children are able to wait before ringing the bell.

Question 46

Strengths and Limitations of Bandura’s perspective?

Answer 46

Strengths: Easily handles inconsistencies in behaviour Optimistic, in a good way Accurate picture explaining how behaviour is learned Offers a way to integrate social and cognitive theories Allows and accounts for cognitive processes Explains a large number of behaviours Accurate and easy to understand Limitations: Too heavy of an emphasis on what happens instead of what the observer does with what happens Does not take into account physical and mental changes Doesn’t explain all behaviour Doesn’t explain behavioural differences Doesn’t take in account that what one person views as punishment, another person may view as a reward