Module 20 Social Cognitive Trait Theories SOCIAL COGNITIVE

Module 20 Social Cognitive & Trait Theories

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY • Definition – says that personality development is shaped primarily by three forces: • __________________________________________________________________________

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY (CONT. ) • Interaction of three factors – Cognitive-personal factors • cognitive factors • Include our beliefs, expectations, values, intentions, and social roles • personal factors • include our emotional makeup and our biological and genetic influences – Behaviors • include a variety of personal actions, such as the things we do and say

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY (CONT. ) • Interaction of three factors – Environmental factors • include our social, political, and cultural influences, as well as our particular learning experiences

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY (CONT. )

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY (CONT. ) • Bandura’s social cognitive theory – assumes that personality development, growth, and change are influenced by four distinctively human cognitive processes: – _______________________________________ – Bandura: much of human personality and behavior is shaped by our _______________

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY (CONT. ) • Four cognitive factors 1. Language ability • ______________________________________________ 2. Observational learning • ______________________________________________ • ______________________________________________

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY (CONT. ) • Locus of control – refers to our beliefs about how much control we have over situations or rewards – Internal locus of control • ______________________________________________ – External locus of control • ______________________________________________ ___________

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY (CONT. ) • Delay of gratification – refers to not taking an immediate but less desirable reward and instead waiting and using an object or completing a task that promises a better reward in the future • Self-efficacy – refers to the confidence in your ability to organize and execute a given course of action to solve a problem or accomplish a task – use previous experiences – compare – listen – use feedback

TRAIT THEORY • Definition – an approach for analyzing the structure of personality by measuring, identifying, and classifying similarities and differences in personality characteristics or traits – Trait • relatively _______________ in a particular way • Gordon Allport – found ____; out of these _______were considered to fit definition of personality traits – __________ in how and individual adjusts to his or her environment

TRAIT THEORY (CONT. ) • Raymond Cattell – took Allport’s list of 4, 500 traits and used factor analysis to reduce the list to the most basic traits – factor analysis • complicated statistical method that finds relationships among different or diverse items and allows them to be grouped together • _______ Cattell called source traits • describe all differences among personalities

TRAIT THEORY (CONT. ) • Finding traits: big five – _________ model organizes personality traits and describes differences in personality using five categories (O. C. E. A. N) • openness • conscientiousness • extraversion • agreeableness • neuroticism

TRAIT THEORY (CONT. )

TRAIT THEORY (CONT. ) • Person Versus Situation – person-situation interaction • ________________________________________ ____________________ • example: Rush Limbaugh could be righteous in criticizing Jerry Garcia’s drug use while being a drug addict himself

GENETIC INFLUENCES ON TRAITS • Behavioral genetics – study of how ___________ influence and interact with ___________ to shape our _______, __________, and ______ and also how we behave, adapt, and adjust to our environment • Studying genetic influences – Heritability • __________ how much of some cognitive, personality, or behavioral trait is influenced by genetic factors

GENETIC INFLUENCES ON TRAITS • Influences on Personality – one reason for brothers and sisters developing different personalities is: • 50% of their genes are different • 50% are shared – another reason is: • each brother’s or sister’s unique set of genetic factors interacts differently with his or her environment

GENETIC INFLUENCES ON TRAITS • Researchers have broken down the contributions to personality development into the four factors: – 40% genetic factors – 27% nonshared environmental factors – 26% error – 7% shared environmental factors

APPLICATION • Objective personality tests (self-report questionnaires) – specific written statements that require individuals to indicate (example) checking “true” or “false” whether the statements apply to them • Objective personality tests are used in: – business settings – clinical settings

APPLICATION • Integrity Tests – supposed to assess whether individuals have high levels of the trait of honesy – focus on measuring a single personality trait • honesty • Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 – true-false self report questionnaire that consists of 338 statements describing a wide range of normal and abnormal behaviors – measures the personality style and emotional adjustment in individuals with mental illness

APPLICATION • Horoscopes • 78% of women • 70% of men • believe that horoscopes are so correct that they were written especially for them • Reliability and Validity – Barnum principle (Named after P. T. Barnum) • method of listing many general traits so that almost everyone who reads the horoscope thinks that these traits apply specifically to him or her • traits are so general that they apply almost to everyone

APPLICATION • Reliability and Validity – Validity: • tests measures what it claims or is supposed to measure – Reliability: • Consistency – person’s score on a test at one point in time should be similar to the score obtained by the same person on a similar tests later in time