Describe a personality paradox

· Reciprocal determinism refers to the concept that behavior, personal factors, and environmental factors are equal, interlocking determinants of each other.

· Observational learning is a specific type of social learning in which observers view the behavior of models.

· Highly aggressive children appear to learn this behavior at home, having experienced their parents modeling aggressive behavior.

· When models are rewarded for aggressive behavior, the result can be the disinhibition of aggression that had previously been restrained.

· Social learning is different than either simple imitation or identification, in that social learning implies underlying psychological processes (cognition).

· In order for social learning to occur, conditions must be met that support the components of this process:  attention, retention, production, and motivation.

· Since observers do not copy behavior perfectly, and since they may choose to mix and match the behavior of different models, observational learning can lead to new and different behaviors.

· Self-regulation refers to the processes of self-reinforcement and self-punishment.  Self-reinforcement works primarily through its motivational effects.

· Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s capabilities to perform specific behaviors in order to accomplish specific outcomes.

· Self-efficacy and self-esteem are separate concepts.  An individual may lack a certain ability and be well aware of it, but if one’s concept of self-worth is not tied to that skill, there will be no corresponding loss of self-esteem.

· Bandura referred to the ability to act as an agent of change in one’s environment as personal agency.

· Bandura believed that behavioral approaches have an advantage over other methods of therapy because of their basis in rigorous, scientific testing.

· Behavioral therapies can only be successful if they focus on goals characterized by clear and observable behaviors.

· Rotter proposed that one must understand four kinds of variables in order to make reasonable predictions about behavior:  behavior potential, expectancy, reinforcement value, and the psychological situation.

· Internal versus external control of reinforcement (aka, locus of control) may be the most important generalized expectancy underlying behavior, according to Rotter.

· Rotter developed the I-E scale in order to measure locus of control.

· A key element in locus of control is contingency awareness, the knowledge that one’s behavior is capable of producing specific outcomes.

· Rotter also developed the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank, specifically designed to measure the personality and psychological adjustment of college students.

· Delayed gratification refers to the concept of working (or restraining oneself) at the present time for a reward that will be granted only at a later time.

· Working together, Mischel and Bandura showed that modeling can alter the preference of children for delayed or immediate gratification.

· Mischel addressed what is known as the personality paradox, the appearance that behavior is inconsistent, while our intuition suggests that behavior is consistent.

· Mischel and Shoda proposed the Cognitive-Affective Processing System (CAPS) in order to address the personality paradox.  By developing situation-behavior profiles, it is possible to identify patterns in the apparent inconsistency of individual behavior.

· fMRI studies have demonstrated specific brain activity that appears to correspond to the cognitive-affective units that underlie the CAPS.

· Situation-behavior characteristics have helped to address some of the problems that arise in situations in which diverse groups do not come together easily.

References

McLeod, S.A. (2007). Psychology Perspectives. Retrieved from
www.simplypsychology.org/perspective.html

National Institutes of Health. Department of Health & Human Services (n.d.).
U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD

20894. Sensation Seeking. Retrieved From https://chirr.nlm.nih.gov/sensation-seeking.php