Social Learning and Trait Theories

Social Learning and Trait Theories According to the Encyclopedia of Psychology (2001), social learning theory is based on the psychology concept that the learning processes within our environment establish human behavior. Aspects of reinforcement in either rewards or punishment meant to develop desirable behavior most specifically determine it. Trait theories on the other hand identify personality as a set of characteristics that are based on our consistent desires, attitudes and behavior that form a stable and consistent part of who we are. Julian B. Rotter is one of the earliest psychologists who developed the theory that besides the earlier research done on behaviorism by the likes of Ian Pavlov, cognition also played a huge role in social learning. His argument was based on the theory that a persons behavior is determined by expectancy. As a result, an individual behaves in a certain way based on the expected outcome of their behavior as well as the value that individual places on that outcome. Rotters personality theory based on social learning had two variables; internals and externals (Mearns, 2000). People have different beliefs on their ability to control whether or not their various behaviors in life are reinforced. Internals believe that they have control over the kind of behaviors they portray while externals are of the view that their behavior is because of external factors, which they have no control over. These two variables do not however apply exclusively in individuals so that people are classified as either internals or externals. Generally, an internal individual can portray external traits in various situations. Personality in general is because of ones interaction with their environment. Another popular social learning theorist Albert Bandura argued that cognition, behavior, and ones environment have a reciprocal relationship. This, he justified by explaining that ones understanding and interpretation of a situation such as hostility causes them to portray hostile behavior. This in turn often affects their environment as it may cause similar hostile thoughts and behavior in other people. Bandura is the same theorist who introduced the concept of observational learning (Kreitner, Luthans, n.d.). People learn certain behavior by observing the consequences of such behavior on other people. As a result, we will take up the behaviors that get positive reinforcement and stay away from those that are punished. This kind of learning is especially typical of children, who imitate behavior that is rewarded in other children or even adults within their environment. Understanding the concept of social learning and trait theories has enabled me to interpret the behaviors and personalities of people within my environment such as my home, school and the work place. We are all unique in the different traits that define each of us, and there are variables that determine our unique behavior (The Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2001). One such variable is our individual perceptions of our environment. Though people may share an environment such as in school and the work place, they may ha ve different perceptions of it, which would translate into their different behaviors. Expectations are another variable that determine our unique behaviors. Everyone has their individual expectations that drive them to behave in a certain way. If for example, attending school in time may be because a student expects to qualify to join a reputable college once they attain good grades, another student who does not plan to join college will not display the same behavior of diligently attending school. Personal values also contribute to individual behavior, which is driven by ones personal goals and ideals, which make them, behave in a certain way. Self-regulation and plans in relation to achieving our goals and living by our ideals determines individual behavior. Therefore, to understand peoples personalities and behaviors in society, I have learned to analyze the determinants that contribute to both within their environment as opposed to making generalizations and assumptions on the causes of their behaviors and the formation of their traits. According to Jones (2005), an individuals environment plays a major role in the formation of their personality and behavior. Aspects of the environment such as ones family, peers, and neighborhood contribute to the social learning that shapes behavior and personality. Having learned this, I have been able to understand peoples behavior better by first looking at the environment in which they live or were brought up. Criminal behavior such as robbery and burglary in an individual for example, may be quickly interpreted as a cause of poverty that drives them to earn a living in this way. However, research has shown that individuals who are brought up in an abusive environment have a high chance of turning to such criminal behavior (Jones, 2005). They may be living comfortable lives but still turn to criminal behavior as a way of punishing other people in a similar manner that they feel they were treated growing up. In the same token, I have learned that observational learning is a powerful tool that leads to the formation of personality and behavior. Jones (2005) further cites the development of aggressive behavior in children as a product of observing the same in their parents, peers, or siblings. This has alerted me to realize that how we behave within our social setting plays a big role in the development of either desirable or bad behavior in others within our environment, and especially children. It is therefore important for society to portray positive behavior in all aspects of our lives consciously in order to aid in developing positive behavior, attitudes, and personalities in children as they grow up. This would help in ridding society of such undesirable behavior as abuse, aggression, violence and antisocial behavior. One of the major roles of each individual in society is to create a favorable environment for themselves and for other people either in school, in the family or at the work place. Having learned the concepts of social learning and traits theories in the development of behavior and personality, my role is reinforced with helpful knowledge on how I can help individuals develop desirable behavior through providing adequate learning experiences. When an individuals expected outcome of certain behavior is not reinforced, they develop low expectancies so that they are no longer motivated to repeat the behavior. Raising the expectancy for reinforcement especially in children will help them develop and sustain desirable behavior. This can be done through helping them develop rational expectancies and encouraging them to behaving in ways that they have been avoiding for the fear that they will fail. In my interactions with others, the knowledge on social learning and traits theories gives me the ability to understand all kinds of people that I meet. They may be introverted, extroverted, hostile, or lacking in confidence but I will be in a position to reach out to them since I am able to understand their different traits. This is as opposed to dismissing people for example on the grounds of being hostile and therefore seemingly unapproachable. It is thus possible for me to approach such an individual and teach them how to take control of their anger and hostility. I can do this by helping them shift their personal ideals and educating them on how negatively they affect their environment, like their children or siblings with such behavior. Conclusion Social learning plays a huge role in the formation of traits and personality in individuals in society (Kreitner and Luthans, n.d.). Once behavior is formed in childhood, based on the conditions of our environment, it is very hard to change that behavior in future. As a result, it is imperative that society creates conducive environment for children to develop healthy personalities and desirable behavior. Development of self-evaluative ideals is also important as it helps individuals create standards for themselves that are at par with positive behavior. Kreitner and Luthans (n.d.) insist that promoting healthy cognitive processes is another handy tool in promoting desirable behavior in social learning. Such processes would enable individuals within the society to reason logically when interpreting different aspects of their environment. This would in turn change such bad behavior as violence and aggression when peoples reasoning powers are increased. This is generally shaping peoples perceptions in ways that enables them to interpret their environment positively in order to develop healthy personalities and positive behavior.

Mid-Term Essay Essay

This essay will focus on the influence family background and childhood memories have on writers and the theme of their writings. In both the essays chosen for detailed study here, we see how the authors’ philosophy of life and things that they chose to explore and write about was set way back in their childhood as a result of the traumas they faced. This paper will present an analysis of how the families of Sanders and Maduro shaped the way these authors understand themselves and relate to others. Scott Russell Sanders was the winner of the Mark Twain Award in 2009 and his work A Private History of Awe was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, to a family of cotton farmers, Sanders taught Literature and worked as Professor of English at Indiana University. The main vision behind his writing is the shift in cultures from a consumerist to a care-giving society (Sanders). In his essay, â€Å"Under the Influence: Paying the Price for my Father’s Booze†, Sanders had chronicled the trauma he and his siblings had to endure because of his father’s alcoholism. In this memoir Sander’s recounts the feelings of guilt, shame and helpless that he felt as a child of ten when he saw his father’s unstable and ferocious outbursts after getting drunk. He blamed himself for it and that feeling of guilt hounded him throughout his life. â€Å"I tell myself he drinks to ease [†¦] an ache I must have caused by disappointing him somehow† (Sanders). To atone for his perceived inadequacies as a child Sanders tried to turn to working hard and trying to keep the family together and taking on his father’s responsibilities, â€Å"by vainly seeking to erase through my efforts whatever drove him to drink† (Sanders). Sanders observes that his own children wonder at what drives him to be a â€Å"workaholic† and tries to allay their fears and any sense of guilt or pressure they may feel by being candid about his own feelings of guilt, hurt and shame at his father’s alcoholism. On maturity he realized that he had castigated himself needlessly as a child and that his father’s alcoholism was a disease and he had no reason to feel responsible for it. However, his fear of drinks and bad conduct that he had witnessed as a child had left a deep scar in his soul. He is reticent about going to pubs with his friends and drinking as much as he is afraid of causing hurt or disappointment to anybody. He is constantly watchful of any adverse reactions from people around him and still carries the shame of his father’s â€Å"sins† deep down inside him and shies away from having that facet of his life exposed in public. The name E. S. Maduro is a pseudonym under which the author talks about her feminist beliefs and her convictions on freedom of choice and awareness for women. She records how her own youthful feelings of rebellion against the social norms of marriage and raising children altered upon maturity but how she clung to her belief that women should have the awareness to make decisions for themselves. They should be allowed to choose their career paths according to their wishes and not be forced into stereotypical roles due to societal pressures. In the essay â€Å"Excuse Me While I Explode: My Mother, Myself, My Anger† the writer describes her feelings of anger, guilt and frustrations when she narrates the story of how her mother and women of that generation had to sacrifice their careers and all their life’s desires to accommodate their families and their duties as home makers and mothers. â€Å"Excuse Me While I Explode: My Mother, Myself, My Anger† first appeared in print as an article in a book entitled The Bitch in the House. In this article Maduro has written about her frustration at the inequality women face in society. It primarily deals with her angst at how she being a post-modern woman who was educated and liberated fell back and did the same things that she has found so loathsome in her mother. She had felt defiant at the way her mother and most women had to give-up their own dreams of a good and successful life to slave at household chores and raising children. â€Å"Years ago† a woman did not have a choice to voice her opinions and the role of housekeeper and dutiful mother was thrust upon her without so much as a thought about how she felt about it. Her toil was taken for granted and the spouse did not even think it inappropriate to allow his wife to do all the housework when he could very easily have offered to help. â€Å"I believed myself to be a feminist, and I vowed never to fall into the same trap of domestic boredom and servitude that I saw my mother as being fully entrenched in; never to settle for a life that was, as I saw it, lacking independence, authority, and respect† (Maduro 5). However, as she grew older and had her own experience of loving and living with her partner she was amazed that she followed the same pattern almost unconsciously and managed both house and work despite her partner wanting to help her with the chores. She puzzles over why this is so because she believed herself to be aware of her rights unlike her mother and in full command over her vocation and what she wanted out of life, yet she slaved at household chores: â€Å"I feel an odd mixture of frustration and love. Together we have a wonderful, open, trusting relationship, but sometimes I wonder if the hostility already in me, and my need to be angry at someone or something, could eventually destroy our bond† (Maduro 12). The article is an introspection of why she chose to do this. She comes up with the hypothesis that women chose to take on domestic responsibilities even if it meant forgoing some of their own desires because it made a woman proud to be an accomplished home maker and mother. She identified this need in a woman to excel in housekeeping as a source of pleasure and fulfillment. She reflects on the dichotomy between love and frustration, career and home, raising children and vocation and finally finds comfort in the fact that unlike her mother she was not forced into servitude. She did what she did because she wanted to do it, she had the option of turning away and that made a big difference. She is able to resolve her conflict and also that of many other women by reiterating that choosing to be a good housekeeper and mother was an option and you could choose to be one even if you felt strongly for the cause of feminism. Works Cited Maduro, E. S. â€Å"Excuse Me While I Explode: My Mother, Myself, My Anger†. The Bitch in the House. Cathy Hanauer. New York: Harper Collins, 2002. Print. Sanders, Russell Scott. â€Å"Under the Influence: Paying the Price for my Father’s Booze† Harpers Magazine Nov 1989: n. pag. Web. 2 Jun 2010.

Whats Truly Happening with Communication Studies Essay Topics

What's Truly Happening with Communication Studies Essay Topics There are just a few things that define whether an essay you're working on is going to be a good one. There's also plenty of information about how to compose an essay and how to prevent the most typical mistakes, but should you need aid, you can refer to this video. Taking into account that lots of persuasive essays concern controversial topics, before writing, you might want to sit down and think of what your opinion on the topic actually is. The fantastic thing about science is there are so many topics you'll be able to write about regardless of which course you're taking. Select your topic carefully to be sure you're enthusiastic and can come across enough to say regarding the issue. It may be an emotional matter. Once you have decided on a topic, you might have to conduct research to support this major idea. You could possibly be given the topic straight away by your professor, or you could be free to decide on the topic yourself. It's important to not forget that the essay a part of your message about communication, thus you should avoidunclear writing and bad phrasing that is likely to make your message difficult to understand for the reader. Rhetorical questions do not need an answer. Don't hesitate to pick any of the gender essay topics within this list and start the journey to a well-written essay on gender difficulties. New Step by Step Roadmap for Communication Studies Essay Topics The very best visual aid ought to be dependent on the use of the presentation. Inside my opinion, another regular life application of the two can be viewed during conflict. A quantitative strategy is better when investigating topics that will be objectively measured. The capacity to demonstrate your own thinking, and your own comprehension of the problem and set it into words. Before you start your essay, you must assemble a comprehensive outline. Writing an excellent persuasive essay is not a simple job, however, it 's achievable. Admission essays for nursing studies are extremely important every time a student is in the practice of going into the curriculum. Always ensure that you proofreadyour communication essay or term paper to guarantee that it does not have any spelling and grammar mistakes. Last, if you're unsure about how to structure your paper, you can depend on essay templates. Essays enable a writer to come up with and increase his writing skills. These topics are extremely good that could be utilized in thesis writing assignments on communication. Structure your essay according to the topic. Your paper should concentrate on a problem of communication, which is related to present times. On-line essay services aren't the degree of technological cheating aids. How to compose the ideal business program. How to Find Communication Studies Essay Topics If you're studying a course linked to communication studies or you are thinking about pursuing a course in communication studies, you'd be dealing with plenty of information from various fields put together to explain about how folks communicate with one another. These topics are meant to help students identify some helpful sources. Therefore, students who study industry and other relevant subjects may be intere sted in writing on a number of the subsequent topics. General information Students that are new to the topic of social studies need to be ready for in-depth education at their very first lessons. When discussing gender equality topics, it's essential to follow certain rules not to abuse a specific kind of readers. Your essay may revolve around gender issues from different sections of the world such as women rights in the Middle East and so forth. This topic would enable you to learn more about the ways gender affects our behaviors in close relationships. To put it differently, utilize these topics as a means of sparking your own imagination. Communication Studies Essay Topics: the Ultimate Convenience! The secret to understanding a communication essay is to realize the definition of communication. There are many kinds of communication inside an organization, formal and informal. As long because there is clarity in communication, the target of communication will be done. T here are plenty of ways, through which an individual, can boost their communication abilities. Communication is extremely important portion of life in any stage and writing assignments on it's a good prospect for those students. This thesis topic gives students the opportunity to look at specific ads to find out if there's a connection between an ad and the business's performance. 2011 in the remedy is a a variety of a college and dreams. Thai massage business program.

The Theory Of The Scientific Revolution - 1255 Words

In the Scientific Revolution, â€Å"there occurred a shift in humans thinking from the medieval emphasis on God s eternal unchanging world, which governed people, the universe, and nature, to an approach that defined knowledge and understanding as derived from the immutable laws of nature independent of received truth.† Scientists changed the way people think about the world. The gears of the revolution began to turn when Copernicus questioned the geocentric theory, developing his theory of heliocentrism. Many scientists use the method of beginning with a question, experimenting, then falsifying the previous theory. This method of thinking became what is now known as the scientific method. Scientists impacted all fields of science from cosmology to biology. The fields of mathematics, chemistry, and medicine were drastically improved because of the scientists in their fields who discovered new concepts to propell the movement. In all three fields, there was a thirst for under standing and organization that was answered by the revolutionary new concepts. For chemistry, it was the development of the scientific method, for mathematics, it was the organization of the universe, and for medicine, it was the movement towards clinical practices. Due to prominent mathematicians of the time period, the field of mathematics was expanded because of the reason that it provided in a socially chaotic time period. In the French language, raison is the word in french for reason and also theShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of Scientific Revolutions1501 Words   |  7 PagesIn my essay I plan to argue that Thomas Kuhn was incorrect when he presented his theory that no paradigm is better than any other paradigm and how he believed that people who occupy different paradigms are in different universes, in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 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