Module 59

Albert Bandura

social-congnitive; personality comes from observing others and modeling ourselves after them Bobo doll experiment

If self-serving bias prevails, why do so many people disparage themselves? For four reasons:

Self-directed put-downs can be subtly strategic: They elicit reassuring strokes. Saying "No one likes me" may at least elicit "But not everyone has met you!" Before an important event, such as a game or a test, self-disparaging comments prepare us for possible failure. The coach who extols the superior strength of the upcoming opponent makes a loss understandable, a victory noteworthy. A self-disparaging "How could I have been so stupid!" can help us learn from our mistakes. Self-disparagement frequently pertains to one's old self. Asked to remember their really bad behaviors, people recall things from long ago; good behaviors more easily come to mind from their recent past (Escobedo & Adolphs, 2010). People are much more critical of their distant past selves than of their current selves—even when they have not changed (Wilson & Ross, 2001). "At 18, I was a jerk; today I'm more sensitive." In their own eyes, chumps yesterday, champs today.

Reciprocal determinism:

The interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment. For example, children's TV-viewing habits (past behavior) influence their viewing preferences (internal factor), which influence how television (environmental factor) affects their current behavior. The influences are mutual.

Optimism

The tendency to focus on the positive aspects of a situation

social-cognitive perspective

Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context. Much as nature and nurture always work together, so do individuals and their situations.

Pessimism

belief that life is basically bad or evil; gloominess

individualist

culture in which the individual is valued more highly than the group

Narcissism

excessive self-love and self-absorption

individualism

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.

Who first proposed the social-cognitive perspective, and how do social-cognitive theorists view personality development? Albert Bandura first proposed the social-cognitive perspective, which views personality as the product of the interaction between a person's traits (including thinking) and the situation—the social context. The behavioral approach contributes an understanding that our personality development is affected by learned responses. Social-cognitive researchers apply principles of learning, as well as cognition and social behavior, to personality. Reciprocal determinism is a term describing the interaction and mutual influence of behavior, internal personal factors, and environmental factors. Research on how we interact with our environment evolved into research on the effects of optimism and pessimism, which led to a broader positive psychology. 59-2 How do social-cognitive researchers explore behavior, and what criticism have they faced? Social-cognitive researchers tend to believe that the best way to predict someone's behavior in a given situation is to observe that person's behavior in similar situations. They have been faulted for underemphasizing the importance of unconscious dynamics, emotions, and inner traits. Their response is that the social-cognitive perspective builds on psychology's well-established concepts of learning and cognition and reminds us of the power of situations. 59-3 Why has psychology generated so much research on the self? How important is self-esteem to psychology and to human well-being? The self is the center of personality, organizing our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Considering possible selves helps motivate us toward positive development, but focusing too intensely on ourselves can lead to the spotlight effect. High self-esteem (our feeling of self-worth) is beneficial, but unrealistically high self-esteem is dangerous (linked to aggressive behavior) and fragile. Self-efficacy is our sense of competence. 59-4 What evidence reveals self-serving bias, and how do defensive and secure self-esteem differ? Self-serving bias is our tendency to perceive ourselves favorably, as when viewing ourselves as better than average or when accepting credit for our successes but not blame for our failures. Defensive self-esteem is fragile, focuses on sustaining itself, and views failure or criticism as a threat. Secure self-esteem enables us to feel accepted for who we are. 59-5 How do individualist and collectivist cultures influence people? Within any culture, the degree of individualism or collectivism varies from person to person. Cultures based on self-reliant individualism, like those found in North America and Western Europe, tend to value personal independence and individual achievement. They define identity in terms of self-esteem, personal goals and attributes, and personal rights and liberties. Cultures based on socially connected collectivism, like those in many parts of Asia and Africa, tend to value interdependence, tradition, and harmony, and they define identity in terms of group goals, commitments, and belonging to one's group.

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Spotlight effect

... Overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders

self

... the individual identity of a person as perceived by that same person

Self-efficacy

An individual's belief that he or she is capable of performing a task. one's sense of competence and effectiveness

Three specific ways in which individuals and environments interact

Different people choose different environments. The school you attend, the reading you do, the TV programs you watch, the music you listen to, the friends you associate with—all are part of an environment you participated in choosing, based partly on your dispositions (Funder, 2009; Ickes et al., 1997). You choose your environment and it then shapes you. Our personalities shape how we interpret and react to events. Anxious people, for example, are attuned to potentially threatening events (Eysenck et al., 1987). Thus, they perceive the world as threatening, and they react accordingly. Our personalities help create situations to which we react. Many experiments reveal that how we view and treat people influences how they in turn treat us. If we expect someone to be angry with us, we may give the person a cold shoulder, touching off the very anger we expect. If we have an easygoing, positive disposition, we will likely enjoy close, supportive friendships (Donnellan et al., 2005; Kendler, 1997).

behavioral approach

In personality theory, this perspective focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development. For example, a child with a very controlling parent may learn to follow orders rather than think independently, and may exhibit a more timid personality.

Self-esteem

One's feelings of high or low self-worth. Confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self-respect

Self-serving bias

People's tendency to take credit for their successes but downplay responsibility for their failures

positive psychology

the scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

Collectivist

this adjective describes cultures in which the individual is less important than the group In South Korea, for example, people place less value on expressing a consistent, unique self-concept, and more on tradition and shared practices