Theories of Personality

Please read Psychoanalytic and Trait theories from the link given below:

http://14.139.185.6/website/SDE/sde203.pdf

Behavioral Learning Theories

Behavioral Learning Theories: How Do We Act?

Learning theories focus on how we respond to events or stimuli rather than emphasizing what
motivates our actions. These theories provide an explanation of how experience can change what
we are capable of doing or feeling.

Classical Conditioning and Emotional Responses

Classical Conditioning theory helps us to understand how our responses to one situation become
attached to new situations. For example, a smell might remind us of a time when we were a kid
(elementary school cafeterias smell like milk and mildew!). If you went to a new cafeteria with
the same smell, it might evoke feelings you had when you were in school. Or a song on the radio
might remind you of a memorable evening you spent with your first true love. Or, if you hear
your entire name (John Wilmington Brewer, for instance) called as you walk across the stage to
receive your diploma and it makes you tense because it reminds you of how your father used to
use your full name when he was upset with you, you’ve been classically conditioned!
Classical conditioning explains how we develop many of our emotional responses to people,
events, or “gut level” reactions to situations. New situations may bring about an old response
because the two have become connected. Attachments form in this way. Addictions are affected
by classical conditioning, as anyone who’s tried to quit smoking can tell you. When you try to
quit, everything that was associated with smoking makes you crave a cigarette.

Pavlov: Classical Conditioning

Ivan Pavlov (1880–1937) was a Russian physiologist interested in studying digestion. As he

recorded the amount of salivation his laboratory dogs produced as they ate, he noticed that they
actually began to salivate before the food arrived, as the researcher walked down the hall and
toward the cage. “This,” he thought, “is not natural!” One would expect a dog to automatically
salivate when the food hit their palate, but BEFORE the food comes? Why would this happen?
The dogs knew that the food was coming because they had learned to associate the footsteps with
the food. The key word here is “learned.” A learned response is called a “conditioned” response.
Pavlov began to experiment with this “psychic” reflex. He began to ring a bell, for instance, prior
to introducing the food. Sure enough, after making this connection several times, the dogs could
be made to salivate to the sound of a bell. Once the bell had become an event to which the dogs
had learned to salivate, it was called a conditioned stimulus. The act of salivating to a bell was a
response that had also been learned, now termed a conditioned response. The response,
salivation, is the same whether it is conditioned or unconditioned (unlearned or natural). What
changed is the stimulus to which the dog salivates. One is natural (unconditioned) and one is
learned (conditioned). Why is this important? Consider how classical conditioning is used on us.
Psychologist, John B. Watson, is known for one of the most widespread applications of classical
conditioning principles.

Watson and Behaviorism

Watson believed that most of our fears and other emotional responses are classically conditioned.
He had gained a good deal of popularity in the 1920s with his expert advice on parenting. He
believed that parents could be taught to help shape their children’s behavior and tried to
demonstrate the power of classical conditioning with his famous experiment on 18-month-old
boy named little Albert. Watson sat Albert down and introduced a variety of seemingly scary
objects to him: a burning piece of newspaper, a white rat, etc. But Albert remained curious and
reached for each of these things. Watson knew that one of our inborn fears is the fear of loud
noises, so he proceeded to make a loud noise each time he introduced one of Albert’s favorites, a
white rat. After hearing the loud noise several times paired with the rat, Albert soon became
fearful of the rat and began to cry when it was introduced. Watson filmed this experiment for
posterity and used it to demonstrate that he could help parents achieve any outcome they desired
if they would only follow his advice.

Consider the experiment with little Albert, identify the unconditioned stimulus, the
unconditioned response, and, after conditioning, the conditioned stimulus, and the conditioned
response. (6)

Behavioral Learning Theory

Operant Conditioning and Repeating Actions

Operant Conditioning is another learning theory that emphasizes a more conscious type of
learning than that of classical conditioning. A person (or animal) does something (operates
something) to see what effect it might bring. Simply said, operant conditioning describes how we
repeat behaviors because they pay off for us. It is based on a principle authored by a psychologist
named Thorndike (1874–1949) called the law of effect. The law of effect suggests that we will
repeat an action if it is followed by a good effect.

Skinner and Reinforcement

B.F. Skinner (1904–1990) expanded on Thorndike’s principle and outlined the principles of
operant conditioning. Skinner believed that we learn best when our actions are reinforced. For
example, a child who cleans his room and is reinforced (rewarded) with a big hug and words of
praise is more likely to clean it again than a child whose deed goes unnoticed. Skinner believed
that almost anything could be reinforced. A reinforcer is anything following a behavior that
makes it more likely to occur again. It can be something intrinsically rewarding (called intrinsic
or primary reinforcers), such as food or praise, or it can be something that is rewarding because it
can be exchanged for what one really wants (such as money to buy a cookie). Such reinforcers
are referred to as secondary reinforcers or extrinsic reinforcers.

Positive and Negative Reinforcement

Sometimes, adding something to the situation is reinforcing as in the cases we described

previously with cookies, praise, and money. Positive reinforcement involves adding something to
the situation in order to encourage a behavior. Other times, taking something away from a
situation can be reinforcing. For example, the loud, annoying buzzer on your alarm clock
encourages you to get up so that you can turn it off and get rid of the noise. Children whine in
order to get their parents to do something and often, parents give in just to stop the whining. In
these instances, negative reinforcement has been used.
Operant conditioning tends to work best if you focus on trying to encourage a behavior or move
a person into the direction you want them to go rather than telling them what not to do.
Reinforcers are used to encourage a behavior; punishers are used to stop behavior. A punisher is
anything that follows an act and decreases the chance it will reoccur. But often a punished
behavior doesn’t really go away. It is just suppressed and may reoccur whenever the threat of
punishment is removed. For example, a motorist may only slow down when the highway patrol
is on the side of the freeway. Another problem with punishment is that when a person focuses on
punishment, they may find it hard to see what the other does right or well. And punishment is
stigmatizing; when punished, some start to see themselves as bad and give up trying to change.

Reinforcement can occur in a predictable way, such as after every desired action is performed, or
intermittently, after the behavior is performed a number of times or the first time it is performed
after a certain amount of time. The schedule of reinforcement has an impact on how long a
behavior continues after reinforcement is discontinued. So a parent who has rewarded a child’s
actions each time may find that the child gives up very quickly if a reward is not immediately
forthcoming. Think about the kinds of behaviors you may have learned through classical and
operant conditioning. You may have learned many things in this way. But sometimes we learn
very complex behaviors quickly and without direct reinforcement. Bandura explains how. (6)

Albert Bandura - Social Learning Theory

In social learning theory, Albert Bandura (1977) agrees with the behaviorist learning theories
of classical conditioning and operant conditioning. However, he adds two important ideas:

1. Mediating processes occur between stimuli & responses.

2. Behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning.
Observational Learning
Children observe the people around them behaving in various ways. This is illustrated during the
famous Bobo doll experiment (Bandura, 1961).
Individuals that are observed are called models. In society, children are surrounded by many
influential models, such as parents within the family, characters on children’s TV, friends within
their peer group and teachers at school. These models provide examples of behavior to observe
and imitate, e.g., masculine and feminine, pro and anti-social, etc.
Children pay attention to some of these people (models) and encode their behavior.  At a later
time they may imitate (i.e., copy) the behavior they have observed.
They may do this regardless of whether the behavior is ‘gender appropriate’ or not, but there are
a number of processes that make it more likely that a child will reproduce the behavior that its
society deems appropriate for its gender.
First, the child is more likely to attend to and imitate those people it perceives as similar to itself.
Consequently, it is more likely to imitate behavior modeled by people of the same gender.
Second, the people around the child will respond to the behavior it imitates with either
reinforcement or punishment.  If a child imitates a model’s behavior and the consequences are
rewarding, the child is likely to continue performing the behavior. 
If a parent sees a little girl consoling her teddy bear and says “what a kind girl you are,” this is
rewarding for the child and makes it more likely that she will repeat the behavior.  Her behavior
has been reinforced (i.e., strengthened).
Reinforcement can be external or internal and can be positive or negative.  If a child wants
approval from parents or peers, this approval is an external reinforcement, but feeling happy
about being approved of is an internal reinforcement.  A child will behave in a way which it
believes will earn approval because it desires approval. 
Positive (or negative) reinforcement will have little impact if the reinforcement offered
externally does not match with an individual's needs.  Reinforcement can be positive or negative,
but the important factor is that it will usually lead to a change in a person's behavior.
Third, the child will also take into account of what happens to other people when deciding
whether or not to copy someone’s actions.  A person learns by observing the consequences of
another person’s (i.e., models) behavior, e.g., a younger sister observing an older sister being
rewarded for a particular behavior is more likely to repeat that behavior herself.  This is known
as vicarious reinforcement.
This relates to an attachment to specific models that possess qualities seen as rewarding.
Children will have a number of models with whom they identify. These may be people in their
immediate world, such as parents or older siblings, or could be fantasy characters or people in
the media. The motivation to identify with a particular model is that they have a quality which
the individual would like to possess.
Identification occurs with another person (the model) and involves taking on (or adopting)
observed behaviors, values, beliefs and attitudes of the person with whom you are identifying.
The term identification as used by Social Learning Theory is similar to the Freudian term related
to the Oedipus complex.  For example, they both involve internalizing or adopting another
person’s behavior.  However, during the Oedipus complex, the child can only identify with the
same sex parent, whereas with Social Learning Theory the person (child or adult) can potentially
identify with any other person.
Identification is different to imitation as it may involve a number of behaviors being adopted,
whereas imitation usually involves copying a single behavior.

Mediational Processes
SLT is often described as the ‘bridge’ between traditional learning theory (i.e., behaviorism) and
the cognitive approach. This is because it focuses on how mental (cognitive) factors are involved
in learning.
Unlike Skinner, Bandura (1977) believes that humans are active information processors and
think about the relationship between their behavior and its consequences.
Observational learning could not occur unless cognitive processes were at work. These mental
factors mediate (i.e., intervene) in the learning process to determine whether a new response is
acquired.
Therefore, individuals do not automatically observe the behavior of a model and imitate it. There
is some thought prior to imitation, and this consideration is called mediational processes. This
occurs between observing the behavior (stimulus) and imitating it or not (response)

There are four mediational processes proposed by Bandura:

1. Attention: The extent to which we are exposed/notice the behavior. For a behavior to be
imitated, it has to grab our attention. We observe many behaviors on a daily basis, and
many of these are not noteworthy. Attention is therefore extremely important in whether
a behavior influences others imitating it.
2. Retention: How well the behavior is remembered. The behavior may be noticed but is it
not always remembered which obviously prevents imitation. It is important therefore that
a memory of the behavior is formed to be performed later by the observer.

Much of social learning is not immediate, so this process is especially vital in those cases.
Even if the behavior is reproduced shortly after seeing it, there needs to be a memory to
refer to.

3. Reproduction: This is the ability to perform the behavior that the model has just
demonstrated. We see much behavior on a daily basis that we would like to be able to
imitate but that this not always possible. We are limited by our physical ability and for
that reason, even if we wish to reproduce the behavior, we cannot.

This influences our decisions whether to try and imitate it or not. Imagine the scenario of
a 90-year-old-lady who struggles to walk watching Dancing on Ice. She may appreciate
 that the skill is a desirable one, but she will not attempt to imitate it because she
physically cannot do it.

4. Motivation: The will to perform the behavior. The rewards and punishment that follow a
behavior will be considered by the observer. If the perceived rewards outweigh the
perceived costs (if there are any), then the behavior will be more likely to be imitated by
the observer. If the vicarious reinforcement is not seen to be important enough to the
observer, then they will not imitate the behavior.

Self- Efficacy

Bandura emphasized the role of observational learning, social experience, and reciprocal
determinism in personality development. This theory suggests that your attitudes,
abilities, and cognitive abilities help you understand what’s known as the self-
system.
This system plays an important role in how you perceive situations and how you
behave in response to different eventualities. Self-efficacy is an essential part of this self-
system.
According to Bandura, self-efficacy is the belief in your ability to organize and
execute the necessary courses of action to manage possible situations. In other words,
it’s your belief in your ability to be successful in a particular situation. Bandura
described these beliefs as determining your way of thinking, behaving, and feeling.
In 1977, Bandura wrote the book, “Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies”. Since then, the
subject has become one of the most studied in psychology. That’s because, as the author
and other psychologists and researchers have shown, self-efficacy can impact
everything, from psychological states to behavior to motivation.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-efficacy-2795954
Critical Evaluation
Social learning theory is not a full explant
The social learning approach takes thought processes into account and acknowledges the role
that they play in deciding if a behavior is to be imitated or not. As such, SLT provides a more
comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognizing the role of mediational processes.
However, although it can explain some quite complex behavior, it cannot adequately account for
how we develop a whole range of behavior including thoughts and feelings. We have a lot of
cognitive control over our behavior and just because we have had experiences of violence does
not mean we have to reproduce such behavior.
It is for this reason that Bandura modified his theory and in 1986 renamed his Social Learning
Theory, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), as a better description of how we learn from our social
experiences.
Some criticisms of social learning theory arise from their commitment to the environment as the
chief influence on behavior. It is limiting to describe behavior solely in terms of either nature or
nurture and attempts to do this underestimate the complexity of human behavior. It is more likely
that behavior is due to an interaction between nature (biology) and nurture (environment).
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-reciprocal-determinism-2795907
Social learning theory is not a full explanation for all behavior. This is particularly the case when
there is no apparent role model in the person’s life to imitate for a given behavior.
The discovery of mirror neurons has lent biological support to the theory of social learning.
Although research is in its infancy the recent discovery of "mirror neurons" in primates may
constitute a neurological basis for imitation. These are neurons which fire both if the animal does
something itself, and if it observes the action being done by another.

Social Learning Theory Julian Rotter and Locus of Control

Julian Rotter (1966) proposed the concept of locus of control, another cognitive factor that
affects learning and personality development. Distinct from self-efficacy, which involves our
belief in our own abilities, locus of control refers to our beliefs about the power we have over
our lives. In Rotter’s view, people possess either an internal or an external locus of control
(Figure 2). Those of us with an internal locus of control (“internals”) tend to believe that most
of our outcomes are the direct result of our efforts. Those of us with an external locus of
control (“externals”) tend to believe that our outcomes are outside of our control.

Cognitive Learning Theory

 https://thepeakperformancecenter.com/educational-learning/learning/theories/cognitive-
learning-theory/

Humanistic Theory of Personality

Carl Rogers' Humanistic Theory of Personality Development (simplypsychology.org)

Grew out of the work of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow Humanistic perspective emphasizes
the responsibility people have for their own behavior, even when their behavior is seen as
abnormal.
Concentrates on what is uniquely human, viewing people as basically rational, oriented toward a
social world, and motivated to seek self-actualization (Rogers, 1995).

Focus on the relationship of the individual to society, considering the ways in which people view
themselves in relation to others and see their place in the world.
Views people as having an awareness of life and of themselves that leads them to search for
meaning and self-worth.
Though criticized for its reliance on unscientific, unverifiable information and its vague, almost
philosophical formulations, it offers a distinctive view of abnormal behavior.
The concept of the “self” is central to the personality theory of Carl Rogers and other humanists.
Our self-concept is our subjective perception of who we are and what we are like
The concept of self is learned from our interactions with others.
Rogers distinguishes between two self-concepts.
There is the self–the person I think I am, and the ideal self–the person I wish I was.
Unconditional positive regard communicates that the person is inherently worthy of love,
regardless of accomplishments or behavior.
Carl Rogers believed that we are born with an innate need for positive regard—for acceptance,
sympathy, and love from others.
Ideally, positive regard received from the parents is unconditional—that is, independent of how
the child behaves.
A major tenet of humanistic psychology is that humans possess an inner drive to grow, improve,
and use their potential to the fullest.

Abraham Maslow calls the ultimate in completed growth self-actualization.

According to Maslow, the self-actualizing person is reaching the highest level of personal
development and has fully realized her or his potential as a human being.
Maslow proposed that needs are arranged in a hierarchy.
After meeting our more basic needs, we experience need progression and focus on needs at the
next level.
If a need at a lower level is no longer satisfied, we experience need regression and focus once
again on meeting that lower-level need.

Psychoanalytic Theory Vs Humanistic Theory

(38) The Psychoanalytical Theory and the Humanistic Theory. A Critical Comparison. | LinkedIn

Humanistic Vs Social Cognitive Theory

Humanistic Theory vs. Social-Congnitive Theory | Blablawriting.com