Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

•Very similar to Rotter

Example

• What kind of teacher would you be?

Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

• Efficacy Expectation– Like Rotter’s expectancies, but different

• Rotter– The perceived probability that if you do something you

will attain your goal

• Bandura– The perceived probability that you can just do

something

Efficacy Expectations

• Do you think you can touch this snake?

• High efficacy– You can do it!

• Low efficacy– You can not do it!

Efficacy Expectations

• A belief about self– What a person thinks they are capable of doing

• Best psychological state is a match between• What a person thinks they can do • What a person can actually do

Example

• Do you like math?

• Why?

• “Girls are bad at math”

Example

• How do you increase a girl’s confidence in math?

1) Show her other girls doing math

2) Have her do it herself to show her she can do math!

Increase her efficacy!

Observation Learning

• Vicarious / observational learning

• Bobo Doll studies

• Children saw either– A) doll attacked– B) doll not attacked

Observation Learning

• Children who saw doll attacked– All attacked Bobo

• Children who did not see doll attacked– None attacked Bobo

• Reinforcement or punishment of model also effected children’s behavior

Group Activity

• List skills and habits you have learned from your parents and the media through observational learning

• How did the behaviors become modeled.

Beyond Bobo

• What do we model?

Physical appearance

“Math is hard” “Physical appearance is important”

“Relationships are chaotic”

“Your mind is important”

“You can do math”

Reciprocal Determinism• When you go home to your family – what

happens?

• Do you think the environment changes?• You shape your own environment!

Reciprocal Determinism

BehaviorEnvironment

SelfYour presence alters your environment

Your environment shapes your personality

Your personality alters your behavior

How you behave alters your personality (especially your perception)

Your environment alters your behavior (Behaviorism)

Your behavior alters your environment

Reciprocal Determinism

• Behaviorism

• Only looks at how the environment alters your behaviors

• Bandura also emphasizes how our behavior shape our environment

Group Activity

• 1) Memory experiment

• 2) Personality perception experiment

Words

stubborn

recklessness

Words

persistent

adventurous

Experiment #1

• Write down– a) the word that comes AFTER one of your

words

– b) the word that comes BEFORE one of your words

Ball

Cat Little

Kite

Sun

Run

Talk

Hike

Track

Wind

Lake

Dog

Mile

Sky

Ball

Cat Little

Kite

Sun

Run

Talk

Hike

Track

Adventurous

Stubborn

Dog

Mile

Sky

End of Experiment #1

• Write down– a) the word that came AFTER one of your

words

– b) the word that came BEFORE one of your words

Experiment #2

• Personality Perception

Donald spent a great amount of his time in search of what he liked to call excitement. He had already climbed Mt. McKinley, shot the Colorado rapids in a kayak, driven in a demolition derby, and piloted a jet-powered boat – without knowing very much about boats. He had risked injury, and even death, a number of times. Now he was in search of new excitement. He was thinking, perhaps, he would so some skydiving or maybe cross the Atlantic in sailboat. By the way he acted one could readily guess that Donald was well aware of his ability to do many things well. Other than business engagements, Donald’s contacts with people were rather limited. He felt he didn’t really need to rely on anyone. Once Donald made up his mind to do something it was as good as done no matter how long it might take or difficult the going might be. Only rarely did he change his mind even when it might well have been better if he had.

Personality Perception

• Write 2-3 sentences of your general impression of Donald

• On a scale of 1 – 10 rate Donald

– (1 = did not like; 5 = Neutral; 10 = Like very much)

Cognitive Processes and Personality

Cognitive Processes and Personality

• How thoughts influence our personality

• Our perceptions of the world

• Our perceptions of ourselves

• The goals we set

Cognitive Processes and Personality

• How thoughts influence our personality

• Perceptual processes

• Self processes

• Strategic and motivational processes

Perceptual Processes

• “For some the world is a hostile place where men are evil and dangerous; for others it is a stage for fun and frolic.”

Perceptual Processes

• Group Activity

• Why?

• Are your perceptions of the world accurate?

• Why do some people perceive the world differently?

Perceptual Processes

• Priming– The more often one perceives something, the

more likely that something is to come to mind

• Environment– Parents (honesty, fearless, etc.)– Television (violence)

How did you see Donald?

• Imagine you always encountered issues surrounding:

– “stubborn / recklessness”

OR

– “persistent / adventurous ”

0123456789

Impression of Donald

PositiveNegative

Perceptual Processes

External World

“network” is activated

Perceptions of World

Exposure to negative words

Priming

“negative network”

See others as negative

Scenarios

• Pretend that you are standing on the playground playing catch with a bunch of kids. You throw the ball to another kid and the kid catches it. You turn around, and the next thing you realize is that the kid has thrown the ball and hit you in the middle of your back. The ball hit you hard and it hurts a lot.

Question

• Why did the child / children do this?

• Do you think the child / children were trying to be mean or not trying to be mean?

• What would you do next?

Scenarios

• Imagine that you are looking for your friend on the playground. You can’t wait to find your friend because you have an important secret to share. By the time you find your friend, your friend is already playing with someone else – a kid you don’t like very much.

Question

• Why did the child / children do this?

• Do you think the child / children were trying to be mean or not trying to be mean?

• What would you do next?

Once in a while I can’t control the urge to strike another person.Given enough provocation, I may hit another person.If somebody hits me, I hit back.I get into fights a little more than the average person.If I have to resort to violence to protect my rights, I will.There are people who pushed me so far that we came to blows.I have threatened people I know.I have become so mad that I have broken things.I often find myself disagreeing with people.When people annoy me, I may tell them what I think.I can’t help getting into arguments when people disagree with me.My friends say that I am somewhat argumentative.When frustrated, I let my irritation show.Some of my friends think I am a hothead.I sometimes feel like a powder keg ready to explode.Sometimes I fly of the handle for no good reasonI have trouble controlling my temper

11.5

12

12.5

13

13.5

14

14.5

Low Hostility High Hostility

Perceptual Processes

“network” is activated

Perceptions of World

“aggressive network”

See others as aggressive

Why are some people aggressive?

• How they see the world!

Comic Books

• 249 students read either

– 1) Violent comic books

– 2) Nonviolent comic books

Violent Comic Books

Non-Violent Comic Books

Scenarios

• Pretend you’re walking outside and you’re wearing your new tennis shoes. You really like your new shoes and it’s the first day that you have worn them. Suddenly, you are bumped from behind by another kid. You stumble and fall into a puddle and your new shoes get muddy.

Question

• Why did the child / children do this?

• Do you think the child / children were trying to be mean or not trying to be mean?

• What would you do next?

Scenarios

• Imagine that you are at lunch one day and looking for a place to sit. You see some kids you know at a table across the room. The kids are laughing and talking to each other, and they look like they are having a good time. You walk over to their table. As soon as you sit down, the kids stop talking and no one says anything to you.

Question

• Why did the child / children do this?

• Do you think the child / children were trying to be mean or not trying to be mean?

• What would you do next?

5

7

9

11

13

15

17

Nonviolent Violent

Perceptual Processes

External World

“network” is activated

Perceptions of World

Exposure to aggressive stimuli

Priming

“aggressive network”

See others as aggressive

Questionnaire

Questionnaire• To score:

• Each question multiply The “concern” answerThe reverse of the “expect” answer

1=62=53=44=35=26=1

• Thus, high scores = you are concerned and don’t expect something to happen

Rejection Sensitivity

• Why are some people always jealous?

• How they see the world!

Rejection Sensitivity

• For some people cues about rejection are more “accessible” than for others

• They are “primed” for rejection cues– Face– Small disagreement– Accidents

• Can be a self-fulfilling prophecy

Perceptual Processes

External World

“network” is activated

Perceptions of World

Exposure to jealous stimuli

Priming

“jealous network”

See others as cheaters

Group Activity

What do you do at McDonalds?

What do you do on a first date?

What do you do on the first day of class?

• How do you know?

• Schema– Organizes knowledge– “Script”

• “Who are you?”

• Self Schema– The cognitive structure that is made up of ideas about

the self.

Group Activity

• Who are you?– Nice, extraverted, etc.?

• Why do you think this?

• Memories of past occasions?

• What if you lost your memory? How would you perceive your personality?

Case Study

• W.J.

• Female college student

• Head injury caused her to lose all memories of her past behavior

Case Study

• When asked to report her personality– Agreed with

• Friends reports• Parents reports

• She could even describe how her personality had changed since the accident

• Conclusion: Your self knowledge exists independently of your behavioral memories!

Measuring Self-Schema• Commonly use S data• How do you see yourself ?

– Rate 1 - 5

• Am the life of the party. • Feel comfortable around people. • Start conversations.  • Talk to a lot of different people at parties. • Don't mind being the center of attention.  • Make friends easily.  • Take charge. • Know how to captivate people. • Feel at ease with people. • Am skilled in handling social situations.

Measuring Self-Schema

• Sociable Schema

• High scores = schematic on this dimension• Low scores = aschematic on this dimension

• Results• Schematic individuals

– tend to behave in a sociable manner– Sensitive to social stimuli

Measuring Self-Schema• _____1. I regularly tells jokes and funny stories when in a group.• _____2. People usually laugh when I tell a joke or story.• _____3. I have a good memory for jokes or funny stories.• _____4. I can be funny without having to rehearse a joke.• _____5. Being funny is a natural communication style for me.• _____6. I can tell a joke well.• _____7. People always ask me to tell stories.• _____8. Friends would say that I am a funny person.• _____9. People pay close attention when I tell a joke.• _____10. Even unfunny jokes seem entertaining when I tell them.• _____11. I can easily remember jokes and stories.• _____12. I always tell jokes and stories when asked to.• _____13. I can tell stories and jokes very well.• _____14. Of all the people I know, I am the funniest.• _____15. I use humor to communicate in a variety of situations.

Measuring Self-Schema

• Humor Schema

• High scores = schematic on this dimension• Low scores = aschematic on this dimension

• Results• Schematic individuals

– Tend to behave in a humor manor / tell jokes better– Judge others in terms of humor

Self-Schema

• Schematic individuals are “experts” on the dimension

• Experts (in any area) tend to– Remember relevant information about domain– See world in terms of the domain– Can automatically respond to issues related to the

domain