The Psychology of the Person Behavioral-Social Learning Approach The Beginning of Behaviorism John B. Watson (1878-1958) was a member of the faculty at John Hopkins University. He started his academic work in philosophy, but then switched to psychology, and In 1913 published his milestone paper:” Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it” Watson’s Main Idea in His 1913 paper Watson argued that if psychology were to become a science, psychologists must stop their engagement in such topics as mental processes and states of consciousness, which were the main topics of the earlier schools, such as structuralism and Functionalism Only observable behaviors can be the subject matter of science. Emotions, thoughts, etc, were of interest to behaviorists only if they could be defined in terms of observable behaviors Watson’s main Ideas (cont-d) Thinking , according to Watson, was simply a variant of verbal behavior, a “sub-vocal speech”, as evident by small vocal-cords movements he claimed accompanied thoughts. Watson claimed that observed behavior can be predicted, and eventually controlled by scientists. Watson’s ConclusionsPersonality, he said was “the end product of our habit system”. That is, over the course of our lives we are conditioned to respond to certain stimuli in more or less predictable ways, which explains the consistency observed in personality characteristics. Control over the environment Watson is famous (or infamous) that given enough control over the environment, he can take any baby, and regardless of the child innate abilities and features, he can mold the child into becoming anything or anyone that he, Watson, wanted. (see next slide) Watson’s Infamous Statement He made his infamous statement: “ Give me a dozen healthy infants, well formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in, and I will guarantee to take any one at random, and train him to become any type of specialist I might select– doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and yes, even a beggerman and a thief” (1924). Little Albert (cont-d) Watson’s perspective is deterministic people can be conditioned to react (emotionally or behaviorally) to stimuli without their awareness In this sense, referring to the old philosophical question whether we have control over out life, he seems to advocate the position that we do not have FREE WIILL. Watson’s Legacy Watson’s main legacy is seen in the shift from subjective introspection into a system of explanation that advocated the operational definition of variables- that is- any variable studied needs to be defined in terms of specific operations that can be used to measure it and to quantify it. In addition, his idea that learning is the core of psychology has become quite prevalent. Shaping In many situation we want to use reinforcement to increase desirable behavior, but the behavior is not emitted by the subject We use shaping, or the method of successive approximations ...

1. The Psychology of the Person
Behavioral-Social Learning
Approach
The Beginning of Behaviorism John B. Watson (1878-1958) was
a member of the faculty at John Hopkins University. He started
his academic work in philosophy, but then switched to
psychology, and In 1913 published his milestone paper:”
Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it”
Watson’s Main Idea in His 1913 paper Watson argued that if
psychology were to become a science, psychologists must stop
their engagement in such topics as mental processes and states
of consciousness, which were the main topics of the earlier
schools, such as structuralism and Functionalism Only
observable behaviors can be the subject matter of science.
Emotions, thoughts, etc, were of interest to behaviorists only if
they could be defined in terms of observable behaviors

2. Watson’s main Ideas (cont-d) Thinking , according to Watson,
was simply a variant of verbal behavior, a “sub-vocal speech”,
as evident by small vocal-cords movements he claimed
accompanied thoughts. Watson claimed that observed behavior
can be predicted, and eventually controlled by scientists.
Watson’s ConclusionsPersonality, he said was “the end product
of our habit system”. That is, over the course of our lives we are
conditioned to respond to certain stimuli in more or less
predictable ways, which explains the consistency observed in
personality characteristics.
Control over the environment Watson is famous (or infamous)
that given enough control over the environment, he can take any
baby, and regardless of the child innate abilities and features,
he can mold the child into becoming anything or anyone that he,
Watson, wanted. (see next slide)
Watson’s Infamous Statement He made his infamous statement:
“ Give me a dozen healthy infants, well formed, and my own
specified world to bring them up in, and I will guarantee to take
any one at random, and train him to become any type of
specialist I might select– doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief,
and yes, even a beggerman and a thief” (1924).
Little Albert (cont-d)

3. Watson’s perspective is deterministic people can be conditioned
to react (emotionally or behaviorally) to stimuli without their
awareness In this sense, referring to the old philosophical
question whether we have control over out life, he seems to
advocate the position that we do not have FREE WIILL.
Watson’s Legacy Watson’s main legacy is seen in the shift
from subjective introspection into a system of explanation that
advocated the operational definition of variables- that is- any
variable studied needs to be defined in terms of specific
operations that can be used to measure it and to quantify it. In
addition, his idea that learning is the core of psychology has
become quite prevalent.
Shaping In many situation we want to use reinforcement to
increase desirable behavior, but the behavior is not emitted by
the subject We use shaping, or the method of successive
approximations We reward small increments toward the final
(desirable) behavior
Social-Learning Theory Around the 1960’s psychology
transitioned toward social-learning theoryThe main concept was
that not only does the environment affect our behavior, but that
our behavior determines the type of environment we find
ourselves in. Social-Learning theorists also claimed that people
provide their own inner reinforcers, in the absence of external
ones

4. Rotter’ s social learning theory Rotter argued that the causes of
human behavior are much more complicated than conditioning
principles. Rotter introduced several “unobservable” concepts to
account for human behavior and personality In any situation we
have different options for behavior. The key to predicting what
we will do in a given situation depends on the behavioral
potential for each option—it is the likelihood of a given
behavior occurring in a given situation.
Rotter’s Social-Learning (cont-d) The strength of the behavior
potential depends on expectancy—which is the probability that
the behavioral option will result in a given reinforcer, and
reinforcement value—the degree to which we prefer one
reinforcer over another. If you do not like candy, offering you
candy after you have done something that is desirable will NOT
affect you.
Rotter (cont-d)
Expectancies- What are they? Rotter introduced the term
“expectancy” to suggest that we decide to behave in a given
manner if we expect our behavior to bring the desired result and
if we value the result- if it is important to us.For example:
Whether we decide to study all night long before a test depends
on our expectancy (belief) that such behavior will give us good
results
Behavioral Potential depends on… The extent to which we
expect our behavior to bring a reward The extent to which we
care about this reward

5. How do we form expectancies about the potential result of our
behavior? The idea is that we are going to emit (display) a
given behavior when we EXPECT is to bring us rewardsWe
form expectancies usually on the basis of past experience of
being rewarded What about situations that we encounter for the
first time? We rely of generalized expectations Rotter refers to
those as Locus of Control
“Generalized expectations” and
Locus of Control (LOC)These are beliefs we hold about how
often our actions typically lead to rewards or
punishments“Locus of Control” is a concept introduced by
Rotter, referring to the extent to which we believe that what
happens to us is the result of our own actions or attributes
(Internal LOC), or the results of forces outside of our control
(External LOC)LOC is found to be related to emotional well -
being vs. depression
LOC beyond RotterWas found as important for emotional well -
being and achievement motivation
Cognitive elements: Social-Cognitive theory: Bandura (1970’s)
rejected the traditional behaviorist views of personality that
presented humans as passive recipients of environmental
stimuli. Bandura argued that there were both internal and
external determinants of behavior, and introduced the concept

6. of reciprocal determinism.
Bandura (cont-d) Albert Bandura (1925-) illustrates the
transition from traditional behavioral views to incorporate
internal variables For him, we are not passive recipients of
rewards and punishment from the environment Bandura argues
that there are both external and internal determinants of
behavior- and these two sets interact in a mode that he labeled
as reciprocal determinism.
Bandura’s Reciprocal Determinism That is, external factors and
internal factors, such as beliefs, thoughts and expectations, are
parts of a system of interacting influences.Not only can the
environment affect behavior, but our behavior affects the
environment. Bandura draws a distinction between potential
environment, which is the same to everyone in a situation, and
the actual environment, the one we create with our behavior.
Reciprocal Determinism Constant movement back and forth
Self-Efficacy One of Bandura’s most important concepts is self-
efficacy The term refers to the extent to which one believes that
he/she can bring about a certain therapeutic outcome Whether

7. people make an effort to cope with problems and how long they
persist in their efforts to change are determined by whether they
believe that that are capable to achieve the change, that is, their
perception of self-efficacy
Self-Efficacy Seems simple, right?
Self-Regulation
Bandura also argues that most behavior is performed in the
absence of external reinforcement and punishment.
Most of our daily actions are controlled by self-regulation.
We often work toward self-imposed goals with inner rewards.
The rewards come from feelings of accomplishment and self-
wroth, that Bandura labeled- self-efficacy.
Observational Learning
Bandura argued that learning is not limited to classical or
operant conditioning.
We can also learn by observing other people, or by reading
about other people’s actions.
Many behaviors are too complex to be learned through the slow
process of reinforcement and punishment.
Learning vs. Performance
Bandura draws an important distinction between learning and
performance.
Behavior learned through observational methods needs not be
performed.

8. The performance is dependent on the expectations of rewards
or punishment.
Application: Behavior Modification
Operant Conditioning Despite all the criticism, Skinner’s ideas
have been successfully translated into therapeutic procedures
labeled behavior modificationThe focus is on changing few,
well-defined and maladaptive behaviors and habits The
procedures were used quite effectively in the case of autistic
children. Lovaas in UCLA used techniques based on operant
conditioning, especially shaping through successive
approximations (rewarding small increments toward the final
goal) to teach language and social skills to Autistic Children
Application
Classical Conditioning Systematic desensitization is a technique
used in treating phobias, where images or real-life encounters of
the feared object or situations are gradually introduced, while
the person is in a state of relaxationIn Aversion Training
therapists try to rid clients of problem behaviors while by
pairing aversive stimuli with the behavior
Assessment: behavioral observations Direct observation: In
order to change behavior (for example- to reduce a child’s
temper tantrum), we need first to assess the problematic
behavior- how often it occurs, what are the conditions that
precede it, what are the consequences of the behavior) - this
stage is called baseline Next- offer the

9. treatment/interventionLast- observe the behavior again, to
assess any changes that can be seen as the result of the
treatment/intervention.
Assessment: Self-Monitoring This technique asks the client in a
behavior-modification program (for example, wants to quit
smoking), to engage in self-monitoring, in order to obtain a
base-line for the target behavior (quit smoking) For example-
how often one smokes, under what circumstances
Self-Monitoring (cont-d)Weakness of this method: In most
cases clients have distorted ideas as to how often the behavior
(e.g. smoking) occursTherefore, therapists ask clients to keep
records as to how often the behavior occurs, under what
situations, etcWatching your own behavior can be therapeutic in
itself!However, sometimes people cheat!
Observations by Others Some clients are unwilling or unable to
provide accurate information about themselves (e.g.
children)Parents and teachers can often record the frequency of
a child’s problem behavior Children sometimes act differently
in the presence of the therapist than at home That is why it is
good to use several observes in different settings

10. Current Status Though the behavioral perspective is regarded as
to simplified to explain the complexity of human behavior,
strategies derived from this approach are quite effective in
psychotherapyBehavior modification interventions are based on
behavioral principles, both classical and operant
conditioningObservational learning is also used in
psychotherapy.
Strengths Foundations in research- need to define the variables
and to measure them, rather than use general terms such as
“self-actualization” or “unconscious”Behavioral principles are
translated into therapeutic procedures (Behavior Modification)
that use objective criteria when wanting to change behavior
Behavior modification procedures are suitable for children or
severely delayed persons
Limitations Skinner’s form of behaviorism is considered today
as radical and as inappropriate to explain the complexity of our
behaviorIt rejects the usefulness of examining our feelings and
inner thoughts, and it ignores completely the role of heredity in
human behavioral mechanisms It has also been claimed that
human beings are more complex that the laboratory animals
used in behavioral research. We humans are capable to consider
alternative courses of action, looking at long-term goals.