The Social Learning Theory of Julian B. Rotter

The Social Learning Theory of Julian B. RotterDr. Reem Ibrahim Ahmed11Basic Assumptions of the Social-Cognitive Viewpoint The Significance of the Personal View. To understand an individual's behavior, we must take into consideration his or her perceptions and beliefs. E.g. After losing his job, an individual might become depressed because he believes he will never be able to find another good job. The Presence of a Need for Cognition. Individuals vary in the extent to which they enjoy and put forth effort related to thinking. E.g. While some individuals will work on word puzzles for the fun of it, others will do so only if they must.

22A Desire for Accuracy in Understanding. Individuals examine the outcome of their hypotheses and modify them depending on the nature of their consequences. E.g. After pleasantly asking for her money back and failing to get the desired outcome, the customer decides to see whether pounding on the counter and demanding to see the manager works more effectively than the gentle approach.

33The Nature and Value of Subjective Probabilities. Individuals use their past experiences to determine the likelihood that a particular behavior will result in a desired consequence, thus having to avoid simply guessing about what to do. E.g. The next time she is in a situation where she has to ask for a refund, the odds are that she will probably start by pounding on the counter before asking quietly and calmly.

44Julian B. RotterJulian B. Rotter was born in October 1916 in Brooklyn, NY, the third son of Jewish immigrant parents. By earning his Ph.D. in clinical psychology after having done a predoctoral internship, Rotter became one of the very first clinical psychologists trained in what is now the traditional mode.

55Basic Assumptions of Rotter's Social Learning Theory: Combining Experience with ExpectationsCombining Experience with ExpectationsAt the foundation of Rotter's social learning perspective are four basic assumptions. learning from meaningful experiencesthe reciprocal nature of life experience the motivational nature of personality the role of expectancies661- Learning from meaningful experienceLearning from meaningful experience involves the view that learning is based on adjusting your perceptions in response to experiences within the environment. E.g. To build up your self-confidence about giving your first sales presentation, practice in front of a mirror and then in front of a few friends to gain some meaningful experience. 772- The reciprocal nature of life experienceThe reciprocal nature of life experience states that old and new life experiences influence each other to form the basis of our perceptions. E.g. While your past experiences have led you to believe that traffic officers love only to give speeding tickets, you change your view when one stops to give you a ride after you have run out of gas on the interstate.

883- The motivational nature of personalityThe motivational nature of personality is that of guiding the individual to maximize reinforcement and minimize punishment. E.g. Practicing your presentation not only builds your confidence but also maximizes the probability of impressing your boss and minimizes the possibility of embarrassing yourself in front of your peers.

994- The role of expectancies The role of expectancies is that they influence behavior by determining the beliefs we have about the likelihood of receiving certain reinforcements. E.g. The extent to which you are willing to risk raising your hand in class to answer a question is largely determined by the expectancies you have about receiving recognition from your peers for knowing the right answer.

1010Basic Assumptions of Rotter's Social Learning Theory: The Specifics for Predicting Behavior Social learning theory outlines four basic concepts used to help explain and predict behavior. These are behavior potentialexpectancy reinforcement valuethe psychological situationas well as their combination into the basic formula for predicting behavior11111- Behavior Potential: What Are My Options? Behavior potential is the probability of a particular behavior occurring in a specific situation. E.g. The probability of you wearing a suit to a job interview is higher than that of you wearing cut-off jeans and at-shirt. 12122- Expectancy An expectancy is a belief that an individual has that a particular behavior will lead to a specific reinforcement in a given situation. E.g. You have the belief that wearing a suit to a job interview has a greater likelihood of producing a job offer than does wearing cut-off jeans and at-shirt.

1313The role of expectancies cont.Specific expectancies refers to the subjective beliefs an individual has about a particular course of action producing a desired outcome in a specific situation. For example, you would be demonstrating a specific expectancy if you believed that studying only the notes would get you a good grade in your history class, but not in your personality course. 1414The role of expectancies cont.Generalized expectancies refers to subjective beliefs an individual might possess that are applied to a variety of situations. For example, you would be demonstrating a generalized expectancy if you assumed that studying only the class notes would get you good grades in all of your courses this semester.

15153- Reinforcement valueReinforcement value is your expressed interest in one particular reinforcer over others. E.g. All things considered, you would rather get a job offer from the marketing research firm than the bank.

16164- The psychological situation The psychological situation includes all of the cues found in the environment that influence the response of the individual. E.g. The information you read about a company in their brochure suggests to you that you should wear your conservative dark blue suit to the interview1717The basic formulaThe basic formula is an equation that combines reinforcement value and expectancies to predict behavior potential in a specific psychological situation. E.g. The suit you decide to wear (behavior potential) to this particular job interview (psychological situation) is influenced by how much you want the job (reinforcement value) and how much you believe wearing the suit will help you get it (expectancy).

1818Personality Adjustment: The General Nature of Coping Rotter's basic formula is designed to predict behavior in specific situations, but determining the nature of personality adjustment involves considering behavioral responses on a more general level. In this regard, Rotter defined certain personality processes that are associated with successful and unsuccessful personality adjustment.

1919Freedom of Movement and Need Value: Having What It Takes to Get What You Want Freedom of movement refers to the expectancy an individual has about a set of behaviors being able to achieve a group of related reinforcements.For example, you may assume that taking good notes, keeping up on your reading assignments, asking questions in class, and studying regularly are behaviors having a high probability of helping you to obtain a group of rewards after graduating from college that might include a stimulating job, a fancy car, and stylish clothes.

2020Successful personality adjustment requires that the individual has the skills necessary (i.e., high freedom of movement) to obtain those things he or she wants so much (i.e., need value).Unsuccessful personality adjustment is characterized by not having the required skills (i.e., low freedom of movement) necessary to obtain the rewards an individual desires, or disproportional need values that are too high (e.g., you expect every person you meet at the party to like you) or too low (e.g., beating by a wide margin at tennis someone who is clearly a lot worse than you will neither give you much satisfaction in this achievement nor be much of a source of pride in your tennis ability). 2121Minimal goal levelMinimal goal level is the least amount of a particular reinforcement category that you will accept as being worthwhile. Successful Adjustment: The sense of satisfaction you experience when you achieve the basic career goals you set for yourself two years ago Unsuccessful Adjustment : The sense of disappointment you might experience when you realize that you are far from achieving the basic career goals you set for yourself two years ago .

2222The relationship between generalized expectancies and personality adjustmentThe relationship between generalized expectancies and personality adjustment involves being able to assess correctly the degree of utility of your expectancies. Successful Adjustment: As a manager, knowing that the generalized expectancy of company involvement includes working overtime in the evenings and some weekends but not playing on the union employees' softball team Unsuccessful Adjustment : Getting so caught up in "company activities" that your participation in all of these events begins to affect your performance as a manager

2323Applications of Rotter's Social Learning Theory: Using What is Known Psychotherapy: Rotter views psychotherapy as a learning process involving the modification of maladaptive cognitive and behavioral patterns.inappropriate cognitions and behaviors are not only eliminated but replaced with more constructive and adaptive alternatives that are taught to the client during the course of psychotherapy.

2424For example, a client may be depressed because he has the faulty cognition that after being downsized from his job, he now believes that he will never find another job that will be as good. As a result of the faulty cognition, he has stopped looking for another job.In the true social- cognitive tradition, social learning psychotherapy can be construed as a problem -solving process that involves trying to determine the optimal way for the client to adopt more rational cognitions (e.g., "I can find another job, if I update my skills") 2525problem-solving approachRotter does not specify a particular set of techniques for achieving this objectiveThis approach relies on the therapist developing an individualized treatment program designed to help the client obtain the necessary cognitive and behavior changes to produce more freedom of movement.Depending on the degree of the client's personality maladjustment, the treatment program may involve teaching the client how to explore new alternatives for goal attainment, focus on the consequences of his or her behavior, or develop a more appropriate system for generalizing expectancies, to name just a few. 2626social learning therapy would involve helping the client to establish a more realistic minimal goal level. For example, a female bank executive might be creating an excessive amount of tension for herself because she feels she must personally do all of the work in her office to achieve complete acceptance by her male peers. In this case, the therapist would work with her on possibly lowering the goals she has set for herself by helping her to understand that it is not a sign of failure or weakness to

2727Personality Assessment:he developed two measures of personality that are designed to assess generalized expectancies: the Interpersonal Trust Scale the Internal vs. External Control of Reinforcement Scale. 2828Applying Locus of Control to Matrimony and Divorce In looking at how couples resolve marital conflict, researchers have discovered that husbands with an internal locus of control behave more assertively than do husbands with an external locus of controlIn observing the ways that couples try to communicate in marital problem solving, researchers discovered that external husbands respond with more verbal and physical aggression than do internal husbands, while external wives resort to more indirect forms of communication, such as teasing and kidding around, than do internal wives2929internal husbands and wives are more aware of and sensitive to potential marital problems than are external spouses, more willing to discuss them openly, and more likely to use problem-solving strategies that involve trying to understand and alter the conditions that were the source of grievance for their spouses when considering the relationship between locus of control and divorce, it seems that internals displayed more pre-divorce decision stress but less post- divorce decision stress than did externals.3030In addition, internals displayed less overall stress than did externals. It seems that because they feel a greater sense of control, the increased level of pre-divorce decision stress found in internals may be due to their experiencing more agony over the decision to get a divorce. But thinking more about and agonizing more over the decision to get a divorce may have contributed to the internals experiencing less post-divorce decision stress and greater overall adjustment to the divorce than externals did.

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