In chapter 11 it is discussed how behaviorist theory sees
personality as learned responses to stimuli—while other theories see them as
qualities of the person that determine behavior, behaviorists dismiss it as
“mysticism”. From the 1950's and onward they further developed the social
learning theory, and the main idea was that human personality and behavior are
shaped based off of rewarded actions, the individuals expectations based on
what they have observed and that certain ways of behaving will result in
rewards or consequences. It sees experiences and external influences as main
influences and determinants of personality and behavior.
Social learning theory and locus-of-control research
resulted in interesting developments in personality theory and clinical
psychology—there was a growing recognition that conscious attitudes and ideas
are a good portion of the person’s traits and actions. George Kelly called them
“personal constructs”: sets of ideas about their own abilities and character,
the behavior other people expect of them, how others might behave in response
to them, what they mean by the things they say, etc. are important aspects and
influences on personality and behavior.
There were some feminists who were saying that all
personality and intellectual differences between men and women were because of
how they were treated differently, different pressures, and conditioning. But
as more research went on, it came to light that certain cognitive and
personality differences were biological. In social life women continue to be
less aggressive than men are, where men are more likely to commit the violent
crimes—and the aggressiveness in men tend to appear early in life before most
social influences can take place. Findings seem to firmly indicate that social
learning plays off and magnifies biological differences that are already built
in and there.
There was also research conducted that has shown that the
closer someone is genetically related to someone, the more alike they are
mental-health wise and usually share the same mental illnesses—the same has
been said with intelligence and certain mental abilities. So, I’d say this
definitely shows the flaws in the behaviorist’s theory; while external factors
do play a large role, they definitely act off of biological components as well
that lie under the surface.
Comments
Post a Comment