POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINESGRADUATE SCHOOLSta. Mesa, Manila

Cognitive Social Learning Theory(Julian B. Rotter)

In partial fulfillment for the requirement in the subject PSY 643 Advanced Theories in Personality

Submitted to:

Dr. Loreto V. Jao

Submitted by:

Marry Jane R. SiosonMP-CP-1

COGNITIVE SOCIAL LEARNING THEORYSocial Cognitive Learning theories of Julian Rotter rest on the assumption that cognitive factors help shape how people will react to environmental forces. Both theorist object to skinners explanation that behavior is shaped by immediate reinforcement and instead suggest that ones expectation that behavior is shaped by immediate reinforcement and instead suggest that ones expectations of future events are prime determinants of performance. Rotter contends that human behavior is best predicted from an understanding of the interaction of people with their meaningful environments. As an interactionist, he believes that neither the environment itself nor the individual is completely responsible for behavior. Instead he holds that peoples cognitions, past histories, and expectations of the future are keys to predicting behavior. Biography of Julian RotterRotter was born on October 22, 1916 inBrooklyn, New York, United States as the third son of Jewish immigrant parents. In the years of elementary and secondary schools, he became interested with psychology and philosophy through readings.Rotter recalled that he fit Adlers description of a highly competitive fighting youngest child.He was particularly impressed by Adler and Freud. In 1930, an activist he was very much concerned with social injustice and economic depression. In 1937, received his BA major in Chemistry at Brooklyn College at 21 years old. In 1938, received his MA at the University of IOWA Graduate School in Psychology He completed an internship in clinical psychology at Worcester Hospital in Massachusetts, where he met his future wife, Clara Barnes. Their union was blessed with two children. In 1941, earned his PhD in Psychology at Indiana University The same year Rotter accepted a position as clinical psychologist at Norwich State Hospital in Connecticut Influences include Alfred Adler and Kurt Lewin, Clark Hull, B.F. Skinner, and Edward Tolman At the advent of World War II, he was drafted into the army and spent more than 3 years as an army psychologist 1946, together with George Kelly, built a clinical psychology program at Ohio State University An Active Participant in the Boulder Conference which defined training for doctoral-level clinical psychologists He stated that psychologists must be trained in the psychology department not under the supervision of a psychiatrist. He later married psychologist Dorothy Hochreich. Rotter died January 6, 2014, at the age of 97 at his home in Connecticut.

INTRODUCTION TO ROTTERS SOCIAL LEARNING THRORYSocial Learning Theory rest on five basic hypotheses.1. It assumes that humans interact with their meaningful environments.Peoples reaction to environmental stimuli depends on the meaning or importance that they attach to an event

2. Human Personality is learned.Thus, It follows that personality is not determined at any particular age of development; instead, it can be changed or modified as long as people are capable of learning.

3. Personality has a basic unity.People learn to evaluate new experiences on the basis of previous reinforcement. This relatively consistent evaluation leads to greater stability and unity of personality.

4. Motivation is goal directedHe rejects the notion that people are primarily motivated to reduce tension or seek pleasure, insisting that the best explanation for human behavior lies in peoples expectations that their behaviors are advancing them towards goal.

5. People are capable of anticipating an event.People are most strongly reinforced by behaviors that move them in the direction of anticipated goals.

Predicting specific behaviorsA. Behavioral potential (bp)Refers to the likelihood that a given behavior will occur in a particular situation.

For example: As Megan, walks toward a restaurant, she has several behavioral potentials. She might pass by without noticing restaurant; actively ignore it; stop to eat; think about stopping to eat, but go on; examine the building and contents with a consideration to purchase it; or stop go inside, and rob the cashier. For Megan, in this situation, the potential for some of these behaviors would approach zero, some would be very likely, and others would be in between these extremes.

B. EXPECTANCYRefers to a persons expectation that some specific reinforcement or set of reinforcement will occur in a given situation. The probability is not determined by the individuals history of reinforcements, as Skinner contended, but is subjectively held by the person.

Generalized expectancies (GEs) are learned through previous experiences with a particular response or similar responses and are based on the belief that certain behaviors will be followed by positive reinforcement.

For example: College students whose previous hard work has been reinforced by high grades will have a generalized expectancy of future reward and will work hard in a variety of academic situations.

Specific expectancies are designated as E (E prime). In any situation the expectancy for a particular reinforcement is determined by a combination of a specific expectancy (E) are the generalized expectancy (GE).

For example: A student may have general expectancy that a given level of academic work will be rewarded by good grades but may believe that an equal amount of hard work in a french class will go unrewarded.

C. REINFORCEMENT VALUEIs the persons preference for a particular reinforcement. The preference a person attaches to any reinforcement when the probabilities for the occurrence of a number of different reinforcements are all equal.

For example: The womans interactions with a vending machine that contains several possible selections, each costing the same. The woman approaches the machine able and willing to pay 75 cents in order to receive a snack. The vending machine is in perfect working condition, so there is a 100% probability that the womans response will be followed by some sort of reinforcement. Her expectancy of reinforcement, therefore for the candy bar, corn chips, popcorn are equal. Her response that-is which button she presses-is determined by the reinforcement value of each snack.Internal Reinforcements and External ReinforcementsWhich refers to events, conditions, or actions on which ones society or culture places a value Internal and External reinforcements may be in harmony or at variance with one another.

For example: If you like popular movies-that is the same ,ones that most other people like-then your internal and external reinforcement for attending these types of movies are in agreement. However, if your taste in movies runs contrary to that of your friends, then your internal and external reinforcements are discrepant. Reinforcement-reinforcement sequencesCluster of reinforcement.

D. Psychological SituationDefine as that part of external and internal world to which a person is responding. It is not synonymous with external stimuli, although physical events are usually important to the psychological situation.

Is a complex set of interacting cues acting upon an individual for any specific time period. (Rotter, 1982, p.318). People do not behave in a vacuum instead, they respond to cues within their perceived environment.

For example: may be relatively constant over a long period of time, whereas the psychological situation faced by a drivers spinning out of control on an icy road may be extremely short. The psychological situation must be considered, along with expectancies and reinforcement value, in determining the probability of a given response.

BASIC PREDICTION FORMULA

This formula is read: The potential for behavior to occur in situation in relation to reinforcement is a function of the expectancy that behavior will be followed by reinforcement in situation and the value of reinforcement in situation Applied to example, the formula suggest that the likelihood (behavior potential or that La Juan will rest her head on her desk (behavior in a dull and boring class with other students slumbering (the psychological situation or ) with the goal of sleep (reinforcement or ) is a function of her expectation that such behavior ( will be followed by sleep ( in this particular classroom situation (, plus a measure of how highly she desires to sleep (reinforcement value, or ), in this specific situation (. Because precise measurement of each of three variables may be beyond the scientific study of human behavior. Rotter proposed a strategy for predicting general behaviors.

PREDICTING GENERAL BEAHVIORSgENERALLIZED EXPECTANCIESExpectations based on similar past experiences that a given behavior will be reinforced. NEEDSRotter (1982) Defined needs as any behavior or set of behaviors that people see as moving them in the direction of a goal. Needs are not states of deprivation or arousal but indicators of the direction of behavior. The difference between needs and goals is sematic only. When focus on the environment, Rotter speaks of goals; when it is on person, he talks of needs.Categories of needsRotter and Hochreich(1975) listed six broad categories of needs, with each category representing a ggroup of functionality related behavior; that is, behaviors that lead to the same or similar reinforcements. Recognition-Status The need to be recognize by others and to achieve status in their eyes is a powerful need for most people. Recognition Status includes the need to excel in those things that a person regards as important for example, school, sports occupation, hobbies, and physical appearance. It also includes the need for socio economic status and personal prestige. Dominance The need to control the behavior of others is called dominance. This need includes any set of behaviors directed at gaining power over the lives of friends, family, colleagues, superiors and subordinates. Talking colleagues into accepting ideas is a specific example of dominance. Independence is the need to be free of the domination of others. It includes those behaviors aimed at gaining the freedom to make decisions, to rely on oneself, and to attain goals without the help of others. Declining help in repairing a bicycle could demonstrate the need for independence. Protection-Dependency A set of needs nearly opposite independence are those of protection and dependency. This category includes the needs to be cared for by others, to be protected from frustration and harm, and to satisfy the other need categories. A specific example of protection-dependency is asking your spouse to stay home from work and take care of you when you are ill. Love and affection Most people have strong needs for love and affection: that is, needs for acceptance by others that go beyond recognition and status to include some indications that people have warm, positive feelings for them. The needs for love and affection include those behaviors aimed toward securing friendly regard, interest, and devotion from others. Doing favors for others in anticipation of receiving verbal expressions of positive regard and gratitude might be an example of this need. Physical Comfort This need includes those behaviors aimed at securing food, good health, and physical security. Other needs are learned as an outgrowth of needs for pleasure, physical contact and well-being. Turning on the air conditioner or hugging another person are examples of the need for physical comfort. NEEDS COMPONENTSNeed Potential (NP)Refers to the possible occurrence of a set of functionality related behaviors directed toward satisfying the same or similar goals. Need potential is analogous to the more specific concept of behavior potential. The difference between the two is that need potential refers to a group of functionally related behaviors, whereas behavior potential is the likelihood that a particular behavior will occur in a given situation in relation to a specific reinforcement. Need potential cannot be measured solely through observation of behavior. For example: EATING IN A FANCY RESTAURANT One person may be satisfying the need for physical comfort; that is food Another person may be more interested in love and affection Third person may be trying primarily to satisfy the need for recognition-statusWhether or not ones need potential is realized however, depends not only on the value or preference one has for that reinforcement but also on ones freedom of movement in making responses leading to that reinforcement.Freedom of Movement(FM)The mean expectancy of being reinforced for performing all those behaviors that are directed towards the satisfaction of some general need. Freedom of Movement is analogous to expectancy. It is ones overall expectation of being reinforced for performing those behaviors that are directed toward satisfying some general need.For example: FM can be determined by holding need value constant and observing ones need potential. For example, if a person places exactly the same value on dominance, independence, love and affection, and each of the other needs, then that person will perform those behaviors judged to have the greatest expectancy of being reinforced.

Need Value (NV)A persons need Value (NV) is the degree to which she or he prefers one set of reinforcement to another. Rotter, Chance, and Phares (1972) defined need value as the mean preference value of a set of functionally related reinforcements. In the general prediction formula, need value is the analog of reinforcement value.

Minimal Goal LevelWhich he defined as the lowest level within a category of reinforcements as individual will consider as being reinforcing. For example, when you are considering job offers, you might tell yourself that you will not work anything less than $23,000 a year. In this example $23, 000 represents your minimal goal level. The same can be said for the student who believes that anything less than A is an unacceptable grade. In this case, the minimal goal level is an A.

GENERAL PREDICTION FORMULAConsider again the case of La Juan, the gifted student who was having difficulty staying awake in a dull and boring class. The basic prediction formula offers some indication of the likelihood that, in the specific situation of a boring lecture, La Juan will rest her head on her desk. However, a more generalized predictions formula is needed to predict her need potential for gaining the recognition- status that comes from graduating with highest honors. La Juans Likelihood of satisfying their needs depends on a complex of behaviors.

This equation means that the need potential (NP) is a function of freedom of movement (FM) and need value (NV). The formula is analogous to the basic prediction formula, and each factor is parallel to the corresponding factors of that basic formula. To illustrate the general prediction formula, we can look at La Juans situation with regard to her future academic work. To predict her need potential for working toward graduation with highest honors, we must measure her freedom of movement, that is, her mean expectancy of being reinforced for a series of behaviors necessary to reach her goal, plus her need value of all those reinforcements: that I, the value she places on recognition status or any other need she associates with receiving academic honors. The value La Juan places on recognition-status (need value), plus her average expectancy of being reinforced for performing the required series of behaviors (freedom of movement), equals her potential for pursuing the set of required behaviors (need potential). COMPARISON OF THE BASIC PREDICTION FORMULA AND THE GENERAL PREDICTION FORMULA:BASIC PREDICTION FORMULA=and Her expectancy that this behavior will be followed by sleepHer need for sleep in this situationPotential for La Juan to rest her head in the classroom

Is a Function +of

GENERAL PREDICTION FORMULA =andHer preference for good grades, prestige, reputation, acceptance by colleagues, praise from professors and other reinforcements related to recognition-status.Her average expectancy that a set of related behaviors directed toward recognition status will be reinforcedPotential for La Juan completing all those behaviors if necessary to receive a PhD in clinical psychology and thereby satisfy her need for recognition-status

Is a Function +of

Rotters two most popular scales for measuring generalized expectancies are the Internal-External Locus of Control and Interpersonal Trust Scale. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL OF REINFORCEMENTLocus of control- The belief that people have that their attempts to reach a goal within their control (internal Locus of control) or are primarily due to powerful events such as fate, chance or other people (external locus of control) . Locus of control is measured by the Internal-External Locus of control Scale.

INTERPERSONAL TRUST SCALEInterpersonal Trust- is the generalized expectancy held by an individual or group can be relied on. Interpersonal Trust does not refer to the belief that people are naturally good or that they live in the best of all possible worlds, neither should it can be equated with gullibility. Rotter saw interpersonal trust as a belief in the communications of others when there is no evidence in disbelieving, whereas gullibility foolishly or naively believes the words of other people.To measure differences in interpersonal trust, Rotter (1967) developed an Interpersonal Trust Scale which asked people to agree or disagree to 25 items that assessed interpersonal trust and 15 filler items designed to conceal the nature of the instrument.Rotter summarized results of studies that indicate that people who score high in interpersonal trust, as opposed to those score low, are1) Less likely to lie2) Probably less likely to cheat or steal3) More likely to give others a second chance) More likely to respect the rights of others4) Less likely to be unhappy , conflicted or maladjusted5) More likely to give others second chance6) Somewhat more likable and popular7) More trustworthy8) Neither more nor less gullible and9) Neither more nor less intelligent

PSYCHOTHERAPYIn general, the goal of Rotters therapy is to bring freedom of movement and need value into harmony, thus reducing and avoidance behaviors. Although Rotter adopts a problem-solving approach to psychotherapy, he does not limit his concern to quick solutions to immediate problems. His interest is more long range involving a change in the patients orientation towards life.Changing GoalsMany patients are unable to solve lifes problems because they are pursuing skewed or distorted goals, The role of the therapist is to help these patients understand the faulty nature of their goals of their goals and to teach them constructive means of striving toward realistic goals.

a) First, two or more important goals may be in conflictb) A second source of problems is a destructive goalc) Third, many people find themselves in trouble because they set their goals too high and are continually frustrated when they cannot reach or exceed them.

Eliminating Low Expectanciesa) First, they may lack the skills or information needed to successfully strive toward their goals.b) A second source of low freedom of movement is faulty evaluation of the present situation.c) Finally, low freedom of movement can spring from inadequate generalization.

EVALUATION OF ROTTERS THEORYIt had generated both quantity and quality of research. For example, Rotters concept of Locus of Control has been, and continued to be one of the most widely researched topics in psychological literature.View of human nature is optimistic. Rotter believes that people can be taught constructive strategies for problem solving and that they are capable of learning new behaviors at any point in life.Characteristics LimitationsOn being too cognitive: Ignoring the objective situationSocial learning theory has been criticized for placing too much emphasis on the cognitive side of the individual. For example, critics from the more traditional learning viewpoint have expressed displeasure with the emphasis social learning theory has put on subjective perceptions by the individual. For example, social learning theory tends to rely on such subjectivity concepts as reinforcement value and specific and generalized expectancies at the expense of attention to objective environmental factors (e.g, the situational conditions under reinforcement and punishment are delivered.) Thus, social learning theory has been criticized by traditional learning theorist as being too subjective.More on being too cognitive: A theory with no feeling. From the more humanistic viewpoint, social learning theory has been criticized as placing too much emphasis on the cognitive side of human nature at the expense of the emotions as anxiety are not found anywhere in the language of social learning theory. In its defense, social learning theory uses such terms as high reinforcement value and low freedom of movement to describe situations in which social learning theory has been criticized as lacking a concern emotions, it actually chooses to consider emotional expression in more objectively stated terms.