Dollard and Miller Chapter 10

1. Dollardand MillerChapter 10 Psychoanalytic Learning Theory

2. Hull’s Theory of Learning • Drive – any strong impulse that moves an organism to action • Reinforcer – anything that reduces a drive • Habit – association b/t stimulus and response (S-R learning)

3. Dollard & Miller’s Theory of Learning • Drive • Cue • Response • Reinforcement

4. Response Hierarchies • Habit family hierarchy • Innate hierarchy of responses • Dominant response • Learning • Initial hierarchy of responses • Resultant hierarchy of responses

5. Example of a response hierarchy: child • R1: cry • R2: grab teddy bear • R3: hide • R4: demand Daddy • R5: go quietly to bed

6. gradient of reward • The more closely the response is followed by reward, the more it is strengthened. • Language can influence this by making a response "close" by talking about it.

7. Bandura (1925- )& Mischel (1930- )

8. Consistency of Human Behavior • Mischel’s Peace Corps study • Personality Coefficient • Weak correlation (.30) between standard personality tests and behavior • Consistency Paradox • The persistent belief that human behavior is consistent over time and situation when experimental evidence indicates that it is not • In fact, Mischel believes consistency is maladaptive

9. The Situational Context of Behavior • Variables affecting personality • Person variables – personal traits that influence response to a situation • Situation variables – environmental circumstances person finds themselves in • Traditional theory overemphasizes Person Variables • Skinner overemphasizes Situation Variables

10. The Situational Context of Behavior • Reciprocal Determinism • Personality emerges from the mutual interactions of individuals, their actions, and their environments.

11. Imagine combinations of these behaviors: hit cry smile With any of these situations: ... when pushed. ... when teased. ... when complimented.

12. It makes sense to “hit back when pushed.” It does not make sense to “cry when complimented.”

13. Person Variables • Beliefs, values, and information gathering strategies that determine which stimuli are perceived, selected, interpreted, and used

14. 1. Encoding Strategies “How we see things” • personal constructs - trait terms people use to describe themselves and other people • Ex. passionate, hard-working • situational descriptions – how situation is interpreted • helps explain why people have different reactions to same situation

15. 2. Expectancies “What we think will happen” • Behavior-Outcome Expectancies • Stimulus-Outcome Expectancies • Self-Efficacy Expectancies

16. Behavior-Outcome Expectancies • If I act in this way, it will have the following result. • If I study 3 hours, will I get an A ? • If I run, will I catch the bus? • Used when specifics about current situation unknown, based on past, similar experiences

17. Stimulus-Outcome Expectancies • What will happen next? • Learned from past experiences

18. I know what to expect from this stimulus!

19. Self-Efficacy Expectancies • Can I do it? • Self-efficacy – what a person can do • Perceived self-efficacy – what a person thinks they are capable of doing

20. Self-Efficacy Expectancies • Strong emotion – low self-efficacy • Calmness – high self-efficacy • People w/ high self-efficacy • Set higher goals • Persist longer • More venturesome • Recover more quickly from set-backs • Have less fear, anxiety, stress & depression

21. 3. Subjective values (of outcome) “What is worth having or doing?” • desirability of outcomes (given the particular individual’s goals or values)

22. 4. Self-regulatory systems and plans “How do we attain our goals?”

23. Self-Regulated Behavior • Most behavior is self-regulated • Performance Standards: • When performance meets standards, person feels good • When performance does not meet standards, person feels bad • Intrinsic vs. extrinsic reinforcement/punishment • I.e., most behavior is purposive or teleological

24. Self-Regulated Behavior • Self-Efficacy as a mediator of performance • Moral Conduct as a regulator of performance • Self-Exonerating Mechanisms excuse violations of moral standards

25. Self-Exonerating Mechanisms • Moral justification • Euphemistic labeling • Advantageous comparison • Displacement of responsibility • Diffusion of responsibility • Disregard or distortion of consequences • Dehumanization • Attribution of blame

26. Delay of Gratification

27. 5. Competencies “What we are capable of doing?” • behavioral • cognitive

28. Examples • Sexual gender identity • Knowing structure of the physical world • Social rules and conventions • Personal constructs about self, others • Rehearsal strategies for learning

29. Five Person Variables • Encoding strategies • Expectancies • Subjective values • Self-regulatory systems & plans • Competencies

30. Experiment • nursery school students would behave more aggressively when they observed an aggressive adult

31. Observational Learning • Learning that takes place when one observes and models the behavior of others • Models as sources of vicarious reinforcement and vicarious punishment • News and Entertainment Media as Models

32. Elements Necessary for Modeling • Attention • One must pay attention to a behavior and its consequences • Retention • One must recall what was observed • Reproduction • Observers must have the motor ability to reproduce the modeled behavior • Motivation • Observer must expect reinforcement for modeled act

33. Dysfunctional Expectancies and Psychotherapy • Psychological problems result from dysfunctional expectancies • Thinking you can do more than you can  frustration • Believing you can do less than you can  inhibits personal growth • Goal of Psychotherapy: Change perceived self-efficacy

34. Social Cognitive Theory View of Human Nature • Freedom versus Determinism • Bandura as a “soft-determinist” • Freedom as options • Chance Encounters and Life Paths • Mind-Body Relationship • Social Cognitive Theory does not accept dualism

35. Critique Contributions