Behavioural Perspective Flashcards
Behaviourism
is a theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable
Skinner: Personality Structure: A View from the outside
he argued for a strong brand of determinism, asserting that behaviour is fully determined by environmental stimuli. He claimed that free will is but an illusion
Skinner viewed an individual’s personality as a collection of response tendencies that are tied to various stimulus situations.
Personality Development as a Product of Conditioning
believed that most human responses are shaped by the type of condition that he described: operant conditioning
Skinner maintained that environmental consequences– reinforcement, punishment, and extinction– determined people’s patterns of responding.
because response tendencies are constantly being strengthened or weaken by new experiences, Skinner’s theory views personality development as continuous life journey.
Bandura’s Social cognitive Theory: Cognitive Processes
This theory agrees with the fundamental thrust of behaviourism in that he believes that personality is largely shaped through learning. He contends that condition is not a mechanical process in which people are passive participants.
He maintains that “people are self-organizing, proactive, self-reflecting, and self-regulating, not just reactive organisms shaped and shepherded by external events.”
Thus, people routinely attempt to influence their lives and their outcomes . Ge also emphasizes the important role of forward-directed planning
Bandura: Reciprocal determinism.
according to this notion, the environment does determine behaviour . However behaviour also determines the environment
–> is the idea that internal mental events,external environmental events, and overt behavioural all influence one another.
Observational Learning
Occurs when an organism’s responding is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models.
Maintains that people’s characteristic patterns of behaviour are shaped by the models that they’re exposed to.
Observational Learning: Model
is a person whose behaviour is observed by another.
Self-Efficiency
Refers to one’s belief about one’s ability to perform behaviours that should lead to expected outcomes.
When self-efficiency is high: individuals feel confident that they can execute the responses necessary to earn reinforcers.
When self-efficiency is low: individuals worry that the necessary responses may be beyond their abilities.
Perceptions of self-efficiency can influence which challenges people tackle an dhow well they perform.
Perceptions of Self-Efficiency
are subjective and specific for certain kinds of tasks.
Mischel and the PErson-Situation Controversy
People make responses that they think will lead to reinforcement n the situation at hand
His social learning theory predicts that people will often behave differently in different situations. Research concludes that people exhibit far less consistency across situations than had be widely assumed (honest in one situation, dishonest in another)
Evaluating Behavioural Perspectives
Pros: Based on rigorous research, Insights into effects of learning and environmental factors
Cons: Over-dependence on animal research, Fragmented view of personality, dehumanizing views
