Psychology 305A: Personality Psychology November 5 Lecture 16

1. Psychology 305A: Personality PsychologyNovember 5 Lecture 16

2. Need money for a worthy cause? Just ask for it. • Apply for a grant to run a project with a community partner. • Give back to the community and get up to $2000 in funding for supplies • Practice putting together a budget • Practice managing a project from start to finish • Examples include throwing an event or block party, or holding a workshop for the community • APPLY BY NOVEMBER 14 • www.students.ubc.ca/communitylearning UBC Community Learning Initiative

3. Optional Paper Due date: November 28. Purposes: To (a) practice the application of personality psychology, (b) explore the personality of an intriguing individual, and (c) think creatively and critically about the course content. Procedure: Conduct a psychobiography. Use up to 3 theories considered in this course to describe, analyze, and interpret the personality of a specific individual (e.g., yourself, a family member, a friend, a public figure, a fictional character). Note: The grade on the paper will be included in the computation of a student’s final grade only if it increases the student’s standing in the course.

4. The Learning Perspective • What are (a) behaviourism, (b) classical conditioning, and (c) operant conditioning? • Can personality development be explained by the processes of classical conditioning and operant conditioning? • 3. What is Dollard and Miller’s social-cognitive learning theory of personality? Psychology 305 4

5. By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 1. discuss the three principles of the behaviourist view. 2. describe the process of classical conditioning. 3. distinguish between and generate examples of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment. 5

6. 4. compare the early behaviourist view with contemporary social-cognitive learning theories of personality. 5. describe Dollard and Miller’s social-cognitive learning theory of personality. 6

7. What are (a) behaviourism, (b) classical conditioning, and (c) operant conditioning? • There are 3 interrelated principles associated with the behaviourist view on personality: Psychology 305 7

8. 1. Personality is determined by environmental factors. 2. Personality is the sum of observable behaviour (vs. instincts, drives, unconscious or conscious experiences, cognitions, needs, motives). 3. Observation of overt behaviour is the only method by which to assess personality. Psychology 305 8

9. Behaviourists suggested that there are 2 learning processes that determine behaviour and, thus, personality: 1. Classical Conditioning • Learning that occurs by repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that produces a reflexive response. • Basic terminology: Psychology 305 9

10. Unconditioned stimulus (US): The stimulus that produces the reflexive response. Unconditioned response (UR): The reflex that occurs automatically in response to the US. Conditioned stimulus (CS): The neutral stimulus that gradually acquires the ability to produce the reflexive response after repeatedly being paired with the US. Conditioned response (CR): The reflexive response that gradually occurs in response to the CS. Psychology 305 10

11. Basic process: US UR Reflexive Repeatedly paired Highly similar CS CR Learned Psychology 305 11

12. Example: In experiments with dogs, Pavlov repeatedly paired the presentation of food with the ringing of a bell. After several pairings, the bell was able to induce salivation in the dogs in the absence of any food. What are the US, UR, CS, and CR in Pavlov’s experiments? US: Food UR: Salivation CS: Ringing of a bell CR: Salivation Psychology 305 12

13. Food Salivation Reflexive Repeatedly paired Highly similar Ringing of Bell Salivation Learned Psychology 305 13

14. 2. Operant Conditioning • Learning that occurs through reinforcement and punishment. (a) Positive reinforcement (PR): Involves the introduction of a desired stimulus following a behaviour. Examples: Praise, social recognition, physical affection, food, money. Increases the probability that a behaviour will be repeated. Psychology 305 14

15. (b) Negative reinforcement (NR): Involves the reduction or removal of an aversive stimulus following a behaviour. Examples: Discontinuation of the criticism of an overbearing boss after writing a good report, discontinuation of the negative comments of a loved one after weight loss. Increases the probability that a behaviour will be repeated. Psychology 305 15

16. (c) Positive punishment (PP): Involves the introduction of an aversive stimulus following a behaviour. Examples: Spankings, verbal reprimands. Decreases the probability that a behaviour will be repeated. Psychology 305 16

17. (d) Negative punishment (NP): Involves the removal of a desired stimulus following a behaviour. Examples: Time-outs, groundings. Decreases the probability that a behaviour will be repeated. Psychology 305 17

18. Example: Skinner placed pigeons in a “Skinner box” containing a lever and a chute for the delivery of food. As the birds learned that pressing the lever resulted in the delivery of food, the rate at which they pressed the lever gradually increased until they did little else. What is the reinforcement in these experiments? Food Is this an example of PR or NR? PR Psychology 305 18

19. Can personality development be explained by the processes of classical conditioning and operant conditioning? • Early behaviourists maintained that personality is the constellation of learned behaviours that are acquired through classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Psychology 305 19

20. Skinner argued that the term “personality” is superfluous because overt behaviour can be completely understood in terms of responses to environmental factors. • Contemporary learning theorists, however, suggest that this view is flawed; it discounts the internal state of the individual (e.g., instincts, drives, unconscious or conscious experiences, cognitions, needs, motives). Psychology 305 20

21. Accordingly, contemporary learning theorists have elaborated upon conditioning processes, placing greater emphasis on mental processes and social aspects of learning. • Collectively, contemporary learning theories are referred to as social-cognitive learning theories. Psychology 305 21

22. What is Dollard and Miller’s social-cognitive learning theory of personality? • Dollard and Miller’s social-cognitive learning theory emphasizes 5 concepts: 1. Drive 2. Cue 3. Response 4. Reinforcement 5. Habit Hierarchy Psychology 305 22

23. According to Dollard and Miller, learning occurs when there is a change in the order of responses in a habit hierarchy. • Each person has unique habit hierarchies; these unique habit hierarchies account for individual differences in personality. Psychology 305 23

24. By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 1. discuss the three principles of the behaviourist view. 2. describe the process of classical conditioning. 3. distinguish between and generate examples of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment. 24

25. 4. compare the early behaviourist view with contemporary social-cognitive learning theories of personality. 5. describe Dollard and Miller’s social-cognitive learning theory of personality. 25