Mod 58 Notes

The Social-Cognitive

Perspective M. 58

The Social-Cognitive Perspective

• Social-cognitive perspective

– views behavior as influenced by the interaction between

people’s traits (including their thinking)

• and their social context.

– Social-behavioral approach

• Focuses on the effects of learning on our personality

development

• Personality is learned

Reciprocal Determinism

= the interacting influences of behavior,

internal cognition, and environment.

Reciprocal Influences

• Reciprocal determinism

Reciprocal Influences

• Ways individuals and the

environment interact
– Different people choose different

environments

– Our personalities shape how we interpret

and react to events

– Our personalities help createsituations to

which we react

The Biopsychosocial Approach to

the Study of Personality

Multiple Choice

interacting influences of behavior, internal personal factors, and environment

• self-transcendence

• reciprocal determinism

• factor

• self

Fill in the Blanks

Multiple Choice

If a child is behaving poorly, it is likely because this behavior has been rewarded somehow.

• Social-cultural perspective

• Behavioral perspective

• Biological perspective

• Psychodynamic perspective

Multiple Choice

An imbalance of hormones can contribute to aggressive behavior.

• Biological perspective

• Psychodynamic perspective

• Humanistic perspective

• Cognitive perspective

Multiple Choice

Anxiety is the result of repressed traumatic childhood experiences.

• Psychodymanic perspective

• Cognitive perspective

• Behavioral perspective

• Biological perspective

Multiple Choice

Fears are learned and can be unlearned.

• Behavioral perspective

• Social-cultural perspective

• Psychodynamic perspective

• Humanistic perspective

Multiple Choice

Eating disorders are more prevalent in the West because we are constantly bombarded with images of thin, perfect bodies.

• Social-cultural perspective

• Behavioral perspective

• Biological perspective

• Psychodynamic perspective

Personal Control

• Personal control

–Two ways to study personal control

•Correlate people’s feelings of control
with their behaviors and achievements
•Experiment by raising and lowering
people’s sense of control and noting
the effects

Personal Control

Internal Versus External Locus of Control

• Internal versus external locus of

control
–External locus of control
–Internal locus of control

Personal Control

Depleting and Strengthening Self-Control

• Self-control

Personal Control

Benefits of Personal Control

• Learned helplessness

Personal Control

Benefits of Personal Control

• Learned helplessness

Personal Control

Benefits of Personal Control

• Learned helplessness

Personal Control

Benefits of Personal Control

• Learned helplessness

Personal Control

Benefits of Personal Control

• Learned helplessness

• Tyranny of choice

– Too many choices make us less happy.

• Analysis paralysis

• Buyers remorse

• FOMO

Personal Control

Optimism Versus Pessimism

• Optimism and Health
• Excessive Optimism
• Blindness to one’s

own incompetence

• Positive psychology

Evaluating the Social-Cognitive

Perspective

• Based on research
• Focuses too much on the

situation

Multiple Choice

"I often feel that I have little control over my life and what happens to me..."

• Internal Locus of Control

• External Locus of Control

Multiple Choice

"If you work hard and commit yourself to a goal, you can achieve anything!"

• Internal Locus of Control

• External Locus of Control

Multiple Choice

"It isn't worth setting goals or making plans because too many things can happen that are outside of my control..."

• Internal Locus of Control

• External Locus of Control

Multiple Choice

A person with a high internal locus of control is

• more likely to obey an authority

• less likely to take responsibility for their actions

• less likely to conform to the majority

• more likely to believe in fate or luck

Multiple Choice

The tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation because of a history of repeated failures in the past.

• Learned helplessness

• insight

• observational learning

• latent learning

Multiple Choice

According to the theory Tyranny of Choice, which of the following statements is true?

• More choices lead to happier people

• No choice will make us happy

• Having some choice will make us happy, but if there are too many choices it can make us less happy

• In scientific experiements it has been proven that humans prefer many choices or none at all

Comparing Research Methods

Empirically Derived

• Empirically derived test

  • created by selecting from a pool of items that discriminate between groups

Multiple Choice

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is a(n):

• empirically derived projective test.

• thematic apperception projective test.

• empirically derived objective test.

• thematic apperception objective test.

Multiple Choice

They recommend that practitioners refrain from administering the tests for purposes other than research ''or at least limit their interpretations to the very small number of indexes derived from these techniques that are ______ supported.''

• admonishing

• empirically

• dubiuous

• reviled

Multiple Choice

TAT, Inkblot and Free Association tests are known as ''______'' because they present people with an ambiguous image or situation and ask them to interpret or make sense of it.

• controversial

• ambiguous

• Rorschach

• projective