COURSE TITLE & CODE

COURSE TITLE

PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL

BEHAVIOUR
•CODE : SMS 354
 OUTLINE – QUICK OVERVIEW
• PREAMBLE
• LAYMAN’S VIEW
• PSYCHOLOGICAL DEFINITION - SINGLE?
• THEORIES OF PERSONALITY – 4 MAIN THEORIES
• PSYCHOANALYTIC; HUMANISTIC, SOCIAL COGNITIVE, AND TRAIT THEORIES
• UNC. INTRA PSYCHIC - 3RD FORCE - BEHAVIORISTS VIEW.PT - BIOLOGICAL VIEW
• 3 FORCES @ WORK- SELF + GROWTH/ ESTEEM - 3 GENTLEMEN CONTRIBUTION - TRAIT/ CONTINUUM
• ID - PLEASURE - CARL ROGERS (UCPR) - RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM - ALLPORT, EYSENCK
• NEED CERTAIN NUTRIENTS (SOCIAL INPUTS) BEH, ENV, COG, INTERACT 2 DETERMINE
• GENUINE, EMPATHY, UCPR EACH OTHER
• EGO-REALITY/D. MECH. A.MASLOW (HIERARCHY) – CHANGE OR NO CHANGE - CATTELL – 16PF
• SUPEREGO – MORAL/PERFECT *S FULFILLMENT - BIG 5 DIMENSIONS
• OTHER . P STRUCTURE/ DYNAMICS/DEV *S. ACTUALIZATION *LOC* S EFFICACY ETC.* OCEAN
• ASSESSMENT * HARDINESS *OPENNESS
• INTERVIEW – STRUCTURED AND UNSTRUCTURED *CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
• OBSERVATION – VARIANTS *EXTRAVERSION
• PROJECTIVE TESTS - SUBJECTIVE * AGREEABLENESS
• OBJECTIVE TESTS - OBJECTIVE * NEUROTICISM
• RELATED ISSUES – VALIDITY, RELIABILITY ETC.
• PERSONALITY DISORDERS
• ANTISOCIAL * BORDERLINE
• HISTRIONIC * PARANOID
• SCHIZOID * SCHIZOTYPAL
• AVOIDANT * DEPENDENT
• OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE
BEHAVIOURAL: SOCIAL LEARNING
COGNITIVE THEORY …(SLCT)

Contribution from number of theorists

 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORISTS

• This theoretical perspective combines important Behavioural

Principles
• pays little attention to biological determinants but focuses on
environmental & cognitive determinants

• People are not inherently good or bad; but are readily modified by
events & situations in the environment

• Only theoretical viewpoint that believes personality is not stable

 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORISTS

• Learning / Conditioning Principles …overview 1st year

• Classical – neutral stimuli predicts & elicits response by an UCS by pairing
• Operant – we learn the association between behavior and consequence …the
frequency of response is altered by the consequence (reinforcers/ punishers)
• Social – imitation/ observation … Vicarious conditioning influence our
cognition (internalize behavior)
• Cognitive principles – all above could be recast in cognitive processes
• Schemas & Scripts (cognitive units help us organize & understand our world)
…(Interpretations/ expectations)
 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORISTS

• Schemas?
• Mental structure used to organize knowledge and guide cognitive processing
& Behavior**
• Used to categorize objects & events based on common elements
• Scripts?
• Is a schematic knowledge structure held in memory that specifies behavior
events sequences that are appropriate for specific situations … expected
behaviors in a particular situation.
• Schema & scripts of
• Church, club, beach, football pitch, Wedding, lecture theatre etc.
 FAMILIAR COGNITIONS
CLASSROOM STADIUM
 FAMILIAR COGNITIONS CONT’D
SWIMMING POOL / 9T CLUB
CHAPEL
 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORISTS
• Reminder: Behaviorism rose to a large extent
• To prove humans are born tabula rasa &
• to make the new science more objective (focus on observable
measurable behavior)
• Radical behaviorists (Watson, Skinner etc.) resisted temptation to be
drawn into personality …simply collection of behaviors acquired &
maintained though reinforcement
• They argued strongly that behavioral principles could be used as a
serious socializing agents
• Declaration that forced younger behaviorists to reconsider that position

• Upon that profound statements some theorists decided to use these

powerful principles to explain personality …focus of lecture
 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORISTS
• Once Watson and Skinner had argued strongly that behavioral
principles could be used as a serious socializing agents
• some theorists decided to use these powerful principles to
explain personality
• Problem; How do they combine these behavioural principles to
produce a unified explanation for personality?
• 3 gentlemen (Albert Bandura, Julian Rotter, and Walter Mitchel)
picked it up, introduced their own concepts and started
experimenting with the view to come out with comprehensive
personality theory
• Another later added a cognitive view 4th theorist Kelly’s
 SOCIAL LEARNING COGNITIVE THEORY
ALBERT BANDURA WALTER MISCHEL JULIAN ROTTER GEORGE KELLY

• Several Contributors
– each presenting own theory.
• Reciprocal determinism – most
acceptable – encompassing most
Behaviorists principles
- quick overview of each
SOCIAL LEARNING COGNITIVE THEORY
WALTER MISCHEL – COGNITIVE
PSYCHOLOGIST
• An individual’s behaviour/ personality
is influenced by the specific attributes
of a given situation &
• The manner in which he/she
perceives the situation
 SCLT – WALTER MISCHEL’S CONTRIBUTION
• He introduced 5 variables namely;
• COMPETENCIES – our mental & physical abilities, social skills, and creative
talents
• ENCODING STRATEGIES – how we process information about other people
and situations (intelligence, friendliness, power, or physical appearance); Some
people are paranoid – suspicious!
• EXPECTANCIES – our beliefs about the causes of success and failure and
about other possible consequences of our actions. 2 expectancies; could we
can perform a behavior but will be it be reinforced?.
• SUBJECTIVE VALUES – kinds of outcomes we find reinforcing
• ( whether we strive for love, security, excitement, respect or dominance)
• SELF-REGULATORY SYSTEM – our ability to set goals, monitor and evaluate
our progress, delay our short term needs for gratification, and plan for the
future.

• According to him these are the factors that really distinguishes one individual
from another
 JULIAN ROTTER

• Julian Rotter (1954) argued that what really matters is how we perceive,
interpret, and value the rewards in our lives. According to Rotter, 2
determinants are
• 1. OUR SUBJECTIVE EXPECTANCY that an act will be reinforced and
• 2. VALUE of that reinforcement determine our behavior in every situation.
 CONCEPT OF LOCUS OF CONTROL

• According to Julian Rotter behavior is influenced by

reinforcements & our perception of CONTROL they referred to as
LOCUS OF CONTROL**.
• the expectancy that one’s reinforcements/outcomes is contingent on
their own behavior rather than being a function of external events not
under their control (Lefcourt, 1992; Rotter, 1990).
• LOC influences how people view the world and how they identify the
causes of success or failure in their lives.
 CONCEPT OF LOCUS OF CONTROL
• People fall into 2 broad categories;
• INTERNAL LOC (in- charge of their own destiny), they believe they can influence the
outcome of situations via their skills and ability. They actively participate in their care
(seek information & other treatment options)
• more likely to engage in proactive behavior, such as preventive health measures and
dieting, than are people with
• EXTERNAL LOC (feel that they are at the mercy of luck, fate, and powerful others).
They think that the outcome of treatment may be primarily due to fate, chance,
powerful forces & people. Luck is the most important tactic in life
• (Theresa & Ethen; Passion) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG9UqoGwIsM)
 TYPICAL MINDSETS/ STATEMENTS
• INTERNALS • EXTERNALS
• Peoples misfortunes results from the • Many of the unhappy things in people’s
mistakes they make lives are partly due to bad luck

• It is difficult to have much control over

• With enough effort, we can wipe out the things politicians do
political corruption
• Sometimes I can’t understand how
teachers arrive at the grade they give
• There is a direct connection between how
hard I study and the grade I get
• Sometimes I feel that I don’t have enough
control over the direction my life is taking
• What happens to me is my own doing
 RELATED CONCEPTS

• Consistent with LOC is the concept of hardiness ( stress resistance personality type) in
which the individual feels that he is in control of his life
• Hardened individuals are more likely to evaluate threatening events as
challenges.
• They are likely to reduce their stress by solving problems
• Sussan Kobassa (1979) introduced Hardiness
• She defined as a stress resistant personality x’tics which has three
components
• COMMITMENT – an active involvement in life activities
• CONTROL – a belief in the ability to influence life events
 RELATED CONCEPTS

• CHALLENGE – a belief that change is normal and growth

enhancing
• These factors are protective.

• She found out that executives who demonstrated these x’tics had low rates
of illness.
• Another person (Nicholas, 1993) found out that elderly people who reported
higher levels of hardiness perceived themselves as fitter than others.
• were more likely to engage in good self care behaviors (Preventive Health
behaviors).
 PERSONALITY & VULNERABILITY TO ILLNESSES
• It has been suggested that characteristics of some people may make them
more vulnerable to developing CORONARY HEART DISEASES (CHD)
• Friedman & Rosenman (1974) described 2 types (A & B personality x’tics)
• TYPE A behaviour consists of features as
• Exaggerated sense of time urgency
• Excessive competitiveness, marked by a drive for achievement
• Hostility and Aggressiveness
• People who display these x’tics have been found to be at greater risk of
developing CHD, compared with people who show TYPE B behaviour
patterns.
• TYPE B – opposite
• Generally easy going and relaxed about life.
• Temoshok (1987) has found and described TYPE C as
• Passive, compliant and suppressing anger.
• This has been associated with CANCER PRONESS**
READ …4TH SLC THEORY – PERSONAL CONSTRUCT THEORY
• Another important cognitive psychologist is George
Kelly. He suggested Personal Construct Theory.
• He compared the individual to scientists who observe
the world, formulate and test assumptions about it and
formulate theories about their observations. This is
made possible using certain cognitive units - schemas
• Schemas, are cognitive units that help humans to
perceive, organize, process and utilize information.
• Every schema is associated with expected set of
behaviors referred to as Scripts.
 READ 4TH SLC THEORY – PERSONAL CONSTRUCT AND
SCHEMAS
• We have schemas for everything; mothers, fathers, classrooms, girl / boy
friend, spouses, swimming pool, church and virtually everything.
• Each individual uses a set of personal constructs in interpreting &
predicting events
• Those unique constructs tend to take an “either-or” form e.g.
• A new acquaintance is either
• Friendly or unfriendly
• Intelligent or unintelligent
• Fun or boring
• Sexy or not …etc.
 READ …4TH SLC THEORY – PERSONAL CONSTRUCT AND
SCHEMAS
KELLY’S PERSONALITY THEORY
• Individual differences and behavior occur as a results of
different sets of cognitive constructs individuals use in
evaluating themselves and their world.
• 2 people may evaluate same individual differently
• 2 sets of evaluation of same person/ event may lead to
different overt reactions & different personality
Reading
• Hoeksema, et al (2009): Atkinson & Hilgards INTRODUCTION TO
PSYCHOLOGY, 15th ed, united kingdom, Wadsworth Cengage Learning,
pages 481- 482 for the ‘Rep test’ and Cognitive Self Schemas.
SOCIAL LEARNING COGNITIVE THEORY
ALBERT BANDURA – SOCIAL/ COGNITIVE LEARNING
Combines all
behavioural
principles to explain
personality
from evidence from
His famous modelling
research

Bobo dull social

learning modelling
experiment – TV
violence
 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORISTS
• All above theorists suggested various concepts
Albert Bandura emphasized the role of learning in explaining
personality.
• He agreed with radical behaviorists view that personality is sum
total of learnt behavior.

• He however broke with them in 2 ways

• 1.People play active role in determining their own actions
rather than being passively acted on by learning environment
&
• 2. the importance of cognition in personality
 RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM

• We also acquire behaviors through modelling / vicarious

learning as well – merely observing & internalizing the
consequences.

• At the same time he asserts that a person's behavior and

personal factors, such as cognitive skills or attitudes can
impact the environment and vice versa.

• From the foregoing Albert Bandura (1986) proposed…reciprocal

determinism to explain our uniquely distinctive ways of Affect,
Behavior & Cognition .
 RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM
• In his words “ your behaviour, internal personal factors, and
environmental all operate interactively as determinants of each
other” (Bandura 1968; 23).
• In other words; if you want to explain a person’s personality,
study the situation, cognition about the situation and how he
usually behave.
• Bandura accepts the possibility of an individual's behavior
being conditioned through the use of consequences such as
reward & punishment. However, we are not passive
recipients.
 MORE INFORMATION AND AN EXAMPLE
• Examples
• How you view and treat people will influence how they in
–turn treat you.
• If you expect someone to be angry with you, you may give
the person a cold shoulder. On the other hand, if you have
an easygoing character, you will likely enjoy close,
supportive friendship.
• The child doesn't like school, therefore, he/she acts out in class.
• Teachers, administrators and peers dislike having the child
around… they create a more restrictive environment for children
of this character.
RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM
 MORE INFORMATION AND AN EXAMPLE
• Example 2
• Suppose someone you don’t like ask you to play racquetball. You
can imagine what a bad day you may have.
• Thus your internal expectation may cause you to reject to reject the
invitation.
• What happens if the persons offers to buy you the new, expensive
racket you have wished to have – external inducement forces you to
oblige
• To play. It turns out you the most enjoyable day ever – you had a
keen competition and enjoyed his jokes & you had fun, you now look
forward to playing with him. What has happened? Change in
expectation/ cognition  affect future behavior.
• EXAMPLES 3 (EXAMPLES OF RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM.docx
• Another EXAMPLE
• RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM..CLASSROOM EX.docx
 MORE INFORMATION AND AN EXAMPLE
• To reinforce your understanding pls watch the following clip in a
browser

• Watch this clip (

https://study.com/learn/lesson/reciprocal-determinism-examp
les-types.html
)
 BANDURA’S CONCEPTS

• Another important person variable that Bandura talks about is self-efficacy.

• BANDURA’S SELF-EFFICACY CONCEPT
• Refers to the degree to which you are subjectively convinced of your own
capabilities and effectiveness in meeting the demands of a particular
situation.
• We acquire a strong sense of self-efficacy by meeting challenges and
mastering new skills specific to a particular situation.
• This also contribute to individual differences/ uniqueness
 EVALUATION OF SOCIAL COGNITIVE
• Their strength is its grounding in
empirical laboratory research. • Critics argue by ignoring
unconscious influences, emotions
or conflicts they have a very
• This perspective is built on limited focus/area in personality.
research in learning, cognitive and
social Psychology, rather than on
clinical impressions. • Notwithstanding the above, this
theory helps us, by placing most of
• Critics however are of the the responsibility for our behaviour
observation that clinical data • “How do you take this, I (55 year old
(Naturalistic) is more generalizable/ man) raped this 12 year old girl
applicable since everyday situation because the devil made me do it”.
is far more complex than isolating
and manipulating a single factor in
lab) than findings from (Strict,
carefully controlled laboratory
research)